Last year, both Samsung Biologics and Celltrion recorded their highest sales in history, with the average salary per employee surpassing 100 million won. This marks the first time that the average salary in the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry has exceeded 100 million won.
On the 25th, a comparison of the average salaries of employees through business reports of the eight domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies, including Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Yuhan Corporation, Chong Kun Dang, Kwangdong Pharmaceutical, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, and GC Biopharma, all with annual sales of over 1 trillion won, showed this result.
As of the end of 2024, the average salary per employee is reported to be the highest at Samsung Biologics at 107 million won, followed by Celltrion at 103 million won. Next, Yuhan Corporation at 97 million won, Chong Kun Dang at 81 million won, Hanmi Pharmaceutical at 79 million won, and both Kwangdong Pharmaceutical and GC Biopharma at 73 million won each, and Daewoong Pharmaceutical at 69 million won.
Compared to the previous year, the average salary increase for employees was the largest at Celltrion at about 15.7%. During the same period, Samsung Biologics increased by 8.08% from the previous year.
In comparison to the food industry, which is a similar manufacturing sector, the salary levels of employees at Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, and Yuhan Corporation have surpassed those of major food corporations. The increases over the past three years have also been significantly larger. Among domestic food corporations, Orion has the highest average annual salary, which was 72 million won in 2021, 80 million won in 2022, 88 million won in 2023, and 88 million won in 2024. Starting from 2021, Samsung Biologics and Celltrion have recorded 79 million won and 78 million won respectively, surpassing Orion.
Pharmaceutical and bio corporations are achieving results in the global market while continuing to see increases in employee salaries. Samsung Biologics recorded sales of 4.5473 trillion won last year, entering the 4 trillion won annual sales club for the first time. This is the highest annual sales amount since its founding and the largest annual sales in the history of domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies.
Celltrion also achieved record earnings of 3.5573 trillion won last year, marking its highest sales ever since its establishment. Both companies have set annual sales targets of around 5 trillion won for this year. Yuhan Corporation, which successfully entered the U.S. market with its domestic lung cancer new drug 'Lecraza', was the first among traditional domestic pharmaceutical companies to surpass annual sales of 2 trillion won last year.
While the pharmaceutical and bio industries are seen as growth drivers in Korea, employee salaries remain lower than those in the IT and semiconductor sectors. Last year, the average salary of employees at Samsung Electronics was 130 million won, while at SK hynix it was 117 million won and at SK it was 116 million won.
Along with salary conditions, the average length of service of employees serves as an indicator of whether a job can be sustained for a long time. As of the end of last year, the average length of service for employees at Celltrion and Samsung Biologics, which were established in the 2000s with relatively short working periods, was found to be 5 years and 9 months and 5 years and 2 months, respectively. Compared to the previous year, Celltrion remained the same while Samsung Biologics increased by 8 months from 2023.
Among the remaining six pharmaceutical companies, Yuhan Corporation had the longest average length of service, while Daewoong Pharmaceutical had the shortest. As of the end of last year, the average length of service at Yuhan Corporation was 12 years and 7 months, followed by Kwangdong Pharmaceutical (10 years and 9 months), GC Biopharma (9 years and 4 months), Chong Kun Dang (9 years and 6 months), Hanmi Pharmaceutical (8 years and 5 months), and Daewoong Pharmaceutical (6 years and 3 months).
The pharmaceutical and bio sectors are engaged in a fierce battle to recruit research and development and marketing personnel from competitors. Pharmaceutical and bio corporations are enhancing employee welfare to strengthen internal cohesion, with each company establishing unique welfare policies.
Samsung Biologics and Celltrion operate programs and counseling centers to assist employees with mental health and psychological counseling. Samsung Biologics also publicly disclosed a 'total compensation statement' for employees for the first time at the end of last January. For new employees last year, the total welfare received from the company, including salary, dormitory, daycare, meal expenses, hospital services, and convenience facilities, amounted to a maximum of 100 million won.
Starting from August 2023, Yuhan Corporation provides 10 million won for each child born. It fully supports not only middle and high school tuition but also college tuition, regardless of the number of children. Furthermore, it continues to provide full financial aid for medical and dental schools after university.