Foreign ministry officials earn highest wages

By Park Si-soo

Foreign ministry officials took home the highest wages in the government last year with the average annual salary hovering around 100 million won ($92,300), an inside report showed Thursday. It also indicated a wide income gap, showing the highest earners make nearly four times as much as the lowest.

The report was released by Rep. Lee Yoon-sung of the ruling Grand National Party, a member of the parliament’s committee on foreign affairs and trade.

According to the report, the average annual salary of foreign ministry officials for 2010 was 95 million won, topping the list of 15 ministries and other state bodies.

Officials at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, were the highest paid at 162 million won, while those at the Consular Office in Anchorage, Alaska, the United States were least paid at 39.2 million won.

The foreign ministry said the great divide was caused by “allowances paid differently depending on office locations, level of difficulty of tasks and other work-related conditions.”

“There is something wrong (with the payment system),” Rep. Lee said. “The average annual income of companies with more than 300 employees is around 40 million won. I need to look into the reason for the inflated salaries.”

Lee cited a higher ratio of high-ranking officials in the foreign ministry as a possible reason. More than 20 percent of foreign ministry officials are 3rd grade or higher.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy came second out of the 15 with 61 million won in average annual income, followed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare with 57 million won, and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security with 56 million won. The Ministry of Employment and Labor reported the lowest average income of 40 million won.