"My successor was paid 7 million won more than me"... Veteran employee sighs, "Should I change jobs?"

[Financial News] A fourth-year employee is torn between negotiating a higher salary and changing jobs after belatedly learning that a replacement with less experience had joined the company on a higher salary.
The details became known through a post recently written by A, an assistant manager in his fourth year, on an online community. A, who currently earns 45 million won annually, said he was shocked after learning the salary of B, an assistant manager who had worked in the same department before leaving the company.
B joined the company in May last year and left in March this year. B had two years of experience in overseas sales as well as previous experience working for an insurance company. B's starting annual salary was 50 million won, 7 million won more than the approximately 43 million won A was earning at the time.
A expressed bitterness, saying, "As a senior employee, I did my job, taking responsibility for everything from training B to reviewing his work and supporting him. Learning that he was paid 7 million won more than me made me realize just how much of a 'cost-effective employee' I had been."
A later said he was considering whether to ask for 60 million won in next year's salary negotiations. He wrote, "I am considering presenting my excessive workload, including handling more than 90% of overseas business trips alone, along with the salary level of the departed assistant manager as bargaining chips. I would like advice on whether that would be the right choice or whether quietly changing jobs is the answer."
Most users who saw the post responded that it would be better to secure the possibility of changing jobs first rather than negotiate a higher salary with the current company. Comments included, "The company will mark you for that," and, "You should try to change jobs, receive an offer letter after being accepted, and use it as leverage."
In a follow-up post, A also explained why he could not easily leave the company.
In addition to his excessive workload, A was effectively in charge of carrying out a major company project.
For the project A was handling, he had secured the client's first investment of approximately 2 billion won, and a second purchase order worth approximately 20 billion won had also been confirmed for this November. He said he had effectively overseen the entire project manager role, from writing the proposal and production to local setup and training.
A said, "Since production for the project is scheduled to be completed at the end of next year, I am worried that if I fail in the salary negotiations and leave now, I will not be able to see through the results I worked so hard to achieve." He added, "But if I stay until the project is completed, I am concerned that the company will not raise my salary, so I am torn."
In the end, A began leaning toward preparing to change jobs. He concluded his post by saying, "I think preparing to change jobs is the answer. I will prepare diligently and have my market value reassessed."
[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter