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Workers in South Korea's food manufacturing and restaurant industries earn significantly less than their counterparts in other sectors, and the wage gap widens with age and education level, according to new research.
A report released Thursday by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI), titled "Analysis of Employment and Job-Switching Determinants in the Food Industry and Its Implications," found that food manufacturing workers earned an average of 17,818 won ($12) per hour in the first half of last year (January–June). That was 81 percent of the 21,982 won average for workers in other manufacturing sectors.
The wage gap grew more pronounced among older and more educated workers. Workers aged 60 and above in food manufacturing earned an average of 15,141 won per hour, just 72 percent of the 20,926 won average in other manufacturing industries.
Among workers with a middle school education or below, those in food manufacturing earned an average of 12,904 won per hour, or 89 percent of the 14,447 won average in other manufacturing sectors. For workers with a junior college degree or above, the food manufacturing average of 20,502 won per hour was 83 percent of the 24,848 won average in other manufacturing industries.
Conditions in the restaurant industry — covering food service and drinking establishments — were even worse. Restaurant workers earned an average of 12,767 won per hour, just 68 percent of the 18,642 won average for workers in comparable sectors such as wholesale and retail, transportation and accommodation.
The education-based wage gap was also wider in the restaurant industry. Workers with a junior college degree or above earned an average of 13,337 won per hour, only 64 percent of the 20,938 won average in comparable sectors.
Restaurant workers also put in longer hours. Regular employees in the sector worked an average of 43.5 hours per week, compared with 41.7 hours in comparable industries.
Workers showed little attachment to their workplaces. Citing data from the 2024 Korean Labor and Income Panel Study, the report said 20 percent of food manufacturing workers and 37 percent of restaurant workers said they had no choice but to work because they needed money for daily living expenses. The share of workers considering leaving their jobs reached 11 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
Voluntary resignation rates were already very high, at 71 percent in food manufacturing and 82 percent in the restaurant industry. The report recommended that, given the practical difficulty of raising wages in the short term, the industries should explore non-monetary compensation measures such as expanding vacation time, introducing flexible work arrangements and shortening working hours.
soho0902@heraldcorp.com
