Even with an annual salary of 100 million won, take-home pay is only 6.52 million won a month... After loans and education costs, just 520,000 won remains

[Financial News] Even with an annual salary of 100 million won, the actual amount deposited into a bank account is estimated to fall to about 6.52 million won a month. Although that places the earner in the top 7% of all workers, there is not much left after loan repayments, education expenses, living costs, and congratulatory or condolence gifts.
A recent video titled "Would an annual salary of 100 million won mean a successful life?" was uploaded to the YouTube channel GaInji TV. The video examined income levels by salary bracket and the economic conditions that office workers actually feel.
Kim Kyung-min, CEO of GaIn Consulting Group, explained that about 1.39 million workers earn more than 100 million won a year, accounting for roughly 6.7% of all workers. He said the average annual salary for office workers is about 43 million won. He also noted that 54 million won places a worker in the top 20%, while the top 0.1% earn about 990 million won a year.
There was a wide gap between a pre-tax annual salary of 100 million won and actual take-home pay. After deductions for the National Pension Service (NPS), National Health Insurance, Employment Insurance (EI), and income tax, the monthly take-home pay was estimated at about 6.52 million won. That means roughly 1.81 million won is deducted from the monthly paycheck, bringing annual take-home pay to about 78 million won.
Even with a high salary, disposable income shrinks sharply once fixed expenses are subtracted. The article assumed a case in which a 50-year-old executive at a large company spends 1.7 million won a month on principal and interest for a mortgage on an apartment in the Seoul metropolitan area, 1.2 million won on private tutoring for two children, 1.8 million won on living expenses for a family of four, and 800,000 won on a car, communications, and insurance premiums. After adding congratulatory and condolence gifts, only about 520,000 won remained.

In addition, a high income does not necessarily guarantee job security.

Kim said it takes an average of 19.4 years for a large-company employee to be promoted to department head, and opportunities for promotion to executive are even more limited. He added that workers in their 40s and 50s may leave the company through early retirement programs, so a high salary does not necessarily mean a stable life.
Kim stressed that what matters more than salary or rank is whether the value of one's job continues to rise. He advised workers to choose their company and role based on whether "this person's market value will go up after doing this job for three years."

[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter