Female doctorate degree holders earn less than their male counterparts, due mainly to a larger number of women majoring in lower-paying fields such as human studies and natural science, a survey showed Tuesday.

According to the survey of 2,638 men and 1,089 women who got their Ph.D. in South Korea for the academic year in 2012, the rate of men with doctorates who earn more than 50 million won ($45,913) per year came to 63.2 percent, nearly double that of women, which came to 36.2 percent.

But 28.6 percent of the female doctorate degree recipients accepted an annual salary of less than 30 million won, far larger than 11.4 percent among the male counterparts, the survey showed.

The Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training conducted the survey.

By major, 67.8 percent, or the largest, of those who study medical science for their doctoral degrees earn more than 50 million won a year, followed by engineering with 67.1 percent and social studies with 62.1 percent, the data showed. (Yonhap News)