Employees at 345 comparable companies among South Korea’s top 500 received an average ₩54.99 million, approximately $40,000, during the first half of this year, up ₩3.63 million, or 7.1%, from ₩51.36 million a year earlier. Securities firms dominated the rankings, accounting for eight of the 10 highest-paying companies and 12 of the 20 companies paying more than ₩100 million. Korea Investment Holdings ranked first at ₩184 million, while E-Land World recorded the lowest average at ₩17 million. Financial holding companies led industries at ₩113.88 million, followed by securities firms at ₩107.1 million. CEO Score attributed securities firms’ strong showing to performance-based compensation, the stock-market rally that began last year and improved investment banking performance, while noting that annualized salaries could be significantly higher because the figures cover only six months.