SBS NEWS

News > World

"Who Would Go into Politics for This Money?" Singapore PM's Salary Hits 3.6 Million SGD: Why Do They Pay So Much?

So Hwan-uk

Published : Sep 14, 2026 6:26 PM

Video

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has announced a new politician compensation system that raises his baseline salary from 2.2 million SGD to 3.6 million SGD.

Explaining the hike of over 60%, Prime Minister Wong emphasized that the biggest reason was that "it is too difficult to recruit people."

Wong confessed that he had personally approached high-ranking civil officials and major corporate CEOs to enter politics, but no one accepted.

Singapore asks the exact opposite question of us—where we start by asking how much a politician should be allowed to receive. Check out the video to see the questions left behind by a prime minister with a 3.8 billion KRW salary.

(Produced by: So Hwan-uk | Edited by: Park Seo-yeon | Design: Ahn Jun-seok | Assistance: Kim Chae-hyun | Production: Knowledge Contents IP Team)