Professionals’ Income in Korea: Doctors Top the List, Veterinarians See Highest Growth Rate

The average income of doctors in Korea was 400 million won, the highest among professionals in the country. However, veterinarians saw the highest increase in business income over the past eight years.

Average income refers to the average of total business income reported to the National Tax Service, while median income refers to the business income of the top 50% of report holders. According to the ‘2014-2022 Business Income Status of Professionals by Industry’ submitted by the National Tax Service, the median income for doctors was 270 million won.

Other professionals with high average incomes include accountants with 220 million won, tax accountants with 120 million won, dentists with 100 million won, veterinarians with 100 million won, oriental medicine doctors with 100 million won, patent attorneys with 90 million won, customs brokers with 80 million won, pharmacists with 80 million won, and lawyers with 70 million won.

The median income for these occupations was 270 million won for doctors, 160 million won for dentists, 90 million won for accountants, 80 million won for pharmacists, 70 million won for oriental medicine doctors, 60 million won for tax accountants, 50 million won for patent attorneys, 50 million won for veterinarians, 40 million won for customs brokers, and 30 million won for lawyers.

Doctors and accountants also showed a ‘concentration phenomenon’ of high-income earners within the same industry. The larger the gap between average and median income, the more it means that some high-income earners earned a lot of money, raising the average income.

The profession with the highest income growth rate was veterinarians, with an average annual business income increase of 12.6% over the past eight years. This is interpreted as the result of an increase in households living with pets.

Following veterinarians, doctors (8.3%), labor attorneys (8.1%), architects (6.0%), pharmacists (5.5%), and accountants (4.3%) showed high growth rates in that order.

Rep. Ando-geol noted that the high income of doctors is a number that has confirmed the reason why middle and high school students are eager to attend medical school. He also pointed out that the average business income of all industries recently was around 19 million won, while the average business income of teenagers in specialized occupations was 196 million won, showing an income gap of nearly 10 times.