Worker wages rose 3.1% year-on-year in the first half of this year, with about one-third of the total wage increase attributed to a surge in special bonuses and other special pay in the electronics and telecommunications sector, which includes semiconductor manufacturing.

According to an analysis of raw data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Employment Labor Survey by the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF), the average monthly total wage per regular worker (excluding overtime pay) in the first half of this year stood at 4.318 million won, up 3.1% (131,000 won) from the same period last year.

The wage growth rate was 0.4 percentage points lower than the 3.5% recorded in the first half of last year.

While the growth rate of regular pay, such as base salary, slowed from 2.9% to 2.2%, the growth rate of special pay, such as bonuses, rose from 8.1% to 9.3%.

The average monthly special pay reached 601,000 won, hitting a record high since relevant statistics began in 2011.

By business size, the wage growth rates were 4.8% for workplaces with 300 or more employees and 2.1% for those with fewer than 300 employees, both lower than in the first half of last year.

However, the special pay growth rate for businesses with 300 or more employees increased from 12.8% to 14.7%, with the average monthly special pay hitting an all-time high of 1.824 million won.

By industry, 11 out of the 17 surveyed sectors, including financial and insurance services, saw lower wage growth rates compared to last year.

On the other hand, manufacturing rose from 4.8% to 5.9%, and professional, scientific, and technical services increased from 2.7% to 5.7%.

In particular, the average monthly total wage in the electronics and telecommunications sector, which includes semiconductor manufacturing, surged 23.1% to 9.434 million won.

Special pay skyrocketed by 66.0%.

Excluding the electronics and telecommunications sector, the average for all other industries was 4.187 million won, with a wage growth rate of just 2.2%.

The increase in special pay from the electronics and telecommunications sector accounted for 42,000 won of the average monthly wage increase per worker, making up 32.4% of the total increase.

Workers in the electronics and telecommunications sector number approximately 377,000, accounting for about 2.5% of all regular employees.

Ha Sang-woo, a director at the KEF, said, "In the first half of this year, special pay increases in the electronics and telecommunications sector, driven by improved semiconductor performance, had a significant impact on overall wage growth." He added, "While sharing corporate performance with workers, payment scales should be determined with consideration for future investment and mid-to-long-term competitiveness, and distributed fairly based on organizational and individual performance and contributions."

He also noted, "We must be cautious about demanding wage increases that exceed a company's capacity to pay based on the compensation levels of other high-performing companies," and emphasized, "Companies and workers must work together to boost productivity and expand corporate competitiveness and wage-paying capacity."