The average annual income of new college graduates at big firms reached 37.12 million won ($34,000) this year, according to data by online recruiting agency JobKorea.

The starting pay for entry-level workers at 167 large Korean firms grew by 7.3 percent from 34.59 million won last year, the biggest increase since the 2007-2010 global financial crisis, the statistics showed.

By industry, workers in the shipbuilding sector were the highest earners, receiving an average annual pay of 41.32 million won. Finance and textiles and apparel followed next, posting 40.68 million and 40.5 million won, respectively.

Meanwhile, the average pay of new graduates at foreign firms in Korea was 31.32 million won, while state-run companies paid an average 30.72 million won. 

(monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)