- More than half of professional visa holders in South Korea now earn over 3 million won monthly.
- New 2026 minimum salary thresholds for E-7 visas have been implemented to account for inflation.
- Despite long hours, nearly 70 percent of foreign workers report being satisfied with their current jobs.
(SOUTH KOREA) — South Korea published new foreign worker survey data on March 10, 2026, showing that more than half of people on E-1 to E-7 professional work visas now earn over 3 million won a month, or about $2,000.
The snapshot marked a shift in the earnings profile of Skilled Visa Holders in categories tied to teaching, research, technical expertise and other specialized work, as the country tries to attract and retain more foreign talent.
The Korea Times reported the figures cover holders of South Korea’s E-1 to E-7 professional work visas, including professors, foreign language teachers, researchers, technical experts, licensed professionals, artists and performers, and workers in designated special-activity categories.
Across all skilled foreign employees in the survey, 50.2% earned between 2 million and 3 million won per month, while 36.9% earned more than 3 million won, the data showed.
Seoul Economic Daily, citing the same government survey, said 2024 was the first time since tracking began in 2012 that the share of skilled professionals earning 3 million won or more exceeded the share in the 2 million to 3 million won bracket.
That milestone matters because it suggests a growing share of foreign professionals are moving into higher-paying roles, even as other visa groups remain clustered at lower pay bands.
The contrast was clearer in non-professional categories. Among non-professional workers, including E-9 visa holders, 68.9% were concentrated in the 2 million to under 3 million won range, the survey showed.
Taken together, the distributions point to a segmented foreign labor market in which professional work visas more often connect to jobs with higher monthly earnings, while many non-professional workers remain concentrated in a narrower middle band.
The earnings data also arrives as South Korea updates its minimum salary rules for one of its main skilled work routes, the E-7 series, which covers designated special-activity jobs and has multiple subtypes.
The Ministry of Justice announced on December 29, 2025, that new 2026 annual pre-tax minimum salary thresholds for E-7 visas take effect from Feb 1-Dec 31, 2026, applying to new issuances, status changes and extensions.
For E-7-1, listed as “Professional,” the 2026 annual minimum is 31.12M KRW, compared with 28.67M KRW in 2025, and the change was described as rising due to inflation and living costs, with E-7-1 up 2.45 million KRW from prior standards.
Under the same update, E-7-2, listed as “Semi-Professional,” carries a 2026 annual minimum of 25.89M-26M KRW, compared with 25.15M KRW in 2025, while E-7-3, listed as “General Skilled,” sets a 2026 annual minimum of 25.89M KRW, compared with 25.15M KRW in 2025.
For E-7-4, listed as “Skilled Technical,” the 2026 annual minimum is 26M KRW, matching 26M KRW in 2025.
Employers must ensure contracts meet the thresholds for visa approval, and the declared salary is guaranteed gross annual income, excluding bonuses, as described in the draft accompanying the update.
A transition rule keeps the earlier standard in place for a limited window. Until January 31, 2026, 2025 standards apply for filings before the change.
While the March 10, 2026, earnings survey focuses on monthly pay distribution and the E-7 rules use annual pre-tax minimums, both sets of figures shape how prospective migrants, international students planning careers in South Korea, and employers think about eligibility and compensation for professional work visas.
The survey also showed that higher earnings do not necessarily come with lighter workloads.
Among foreign workers overall, 58.1% said they worked between 40 and 50 hours a week, 17.8% worked between 50 and 60 hours, and 8.7% reported working 60 hours or more.
Those reported work patterns add nuance to the pay data because they place the monthly earnings brackets alongside a sizable share of long workweeks.
Even so, job satisfaction remained relatively strong in the same survey snapshot.
The Korea Times reported that 68.7% of foreign workers said they were satisfied with their current jobs, while only 10.8% said they wanted to change jobs.
Satisfaction was especially high among E-9 workers, at 77%, a result that stands out alongside the earnings concentration of non-professional workers in the 2 million to under 3 million won range.
The wider pay environment provides additional context for how far the foreign-worker pay bands sit from typical benchmarks inside South Korea.
South Korea’s overall average monthly salary is 3.815M-3.9M KRW, with medians at 3.5M KRW, figures cited in the same set of 2026 labor-market context.
Pay in higher-earning sectors also sets reference points for skilled recruitment. Professionals in IT/finance often exceed 4M-6.5M KRW, a range highlighted alongside the broader averages and medians.
At the bottom end of the wage scale, the minimum wage rose to 10,320 KRW/hour, from 10,030 KRW in 2025, yielding about 2.15M-2.16M KRW monthly for full-time work based on 209 hours.
That minimum-wage baseline intersects with the survey’s middle earnings bands, including the 2 million to under 3 million won range where 50.2% of skilled foreign employees and 68.9% of non-professional workers were concentrated, while also framing the gap between those bands and higher monthly earnings above 3 million won.
In the March 10 snapshot, the 3 million won line functioned as a symbolic threshold for Skilled Visa Holders because it marked the point above which more than half of E-1 to E-7 professionals now fall, according to The Korea Times’ description of the distribution.
The shift also fits with a broader policy direction described in the same coverage. South Korea appears to be offering stronger earnings prospects for foreign professionals in visa categories tied to teaching, research, technical expertise, and other specialized work, and that approach aligns with a push to attract and retain more foreign talent as it deals with labor shortages and long-term demographic pressure.
Recent reports indicate Seoul is also expanding visa pathways and benefits for high-skilled foreign workers under a broader immigration strategy, the coverage said, without detailing specific measures in the same account.
For employers, the combined picture links pay distribution to compliance and planning. The updated E-7 minimum salary thresholds for 2026 set a clearer floor for contracts used in issuance, changes and extensions, and the rules assess eligibility using gross annual income excluding bonuses.
For migrants and students looking at professional work visas, the earnings distribution suggests the upper band above 3 million won has become a more common outcome among E-1 to E-7 roles than it was in earlier tracking, while the hours data underscores that long workweeks remain common among foreign workers overall.
The 2024 crossover noted by Seoul Economic Daily—when the share earning 3 million won or more exceeded the share in the 2 million to 3 million won bracket for the skilled segment for the first time since tracking began in 2012—adds a longer time horizon to the March 10, 2026, publication.
At the same time, the survey’s low reported desire to change jobs, at 10.8%, suggests many foreign workers describe stability in their current roles, even as 17.8% reported working between 50 and 60 hours and 8.7% reported working 60 hours or more.
For South Korea’s recruitment goals, the figures put practical numbers behind an argument often made in policy discussions: that higher pay prospects can make professional routes more appealing, even as workload and working hours remain part of the trade-off visible in the survey data.
