NK government steals 98.5% of wages from Gaeseong workers

You would have thought that working at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea would be a good deal, with its high wages and the Choco Pie snacks.

Wrong. According to calculations by Peterson International Economics Institute, the government takes 98.5 percent of wages from the workers at the industrial complex which is close the border with Seoul and is run by scores of small and medium-size South Korean manufacturing companies.

Marcus Noland, citing statistics from a paper on labor conditions in North Korea at Johns Hopkins University, North Korean workers at Gaeseong are provided with a base salary of $67.05 which is huge by the country’s standards.

On top of the base salary, there are various forms of bonuses which bring the monthly total to about $130. At the end of the month, however, they get to take home no more than about $2 since they are paid in their own currency.

Owing to the fact that black market values are often used, the conversion rate becomes worse, thus leaving Gaeseong workers with no more than $2 worth, enough to buy about 2-3 kilograms of rice.

By 2012 standards, there were 50,000 North Korean workers employed at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex which is basically run by South Korean companies, meaning that the North Korean government pocketed as much as $78.8 million in that year alone.