Nearly three in 10 science and engineering postdoctoral researchers at South Korean universities earn less than 3 million won ($2,100) a month, according to data released on the 25th. Close to four in 10 work on contracts of a year or less, drawing scrutiny to the working conditions of the country's highly trained research workforce.
Of 5,126 postdoctoral researchers at 75 universities nationwide, 1,430, or 27.9%, were paid less than 3 million won a month, according to data on the employment and pay of science and engineering postdoctoral researchers that Rep. Kim Nam-kuk of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, obtained from the Ministry of Education.
59% of Postdocs Earn Under 4 Million Won, With Wide Gaps Among Universities
By pay bracket, 241 researchers, or 4.7%, earned less than 2 million won a month, while 1,189, or 23.2%, earned between 2 million and 3 million won. Another 1,597, or 31.2%, earned between 3 million and 4 million won. In all, 3,027 researchers, or 59.1% of the total, were paid less than 4 million won a month.
Gaps among institutions were pronounced. At Kangwon National University, 74 of 126 researchers, or 58.7%, earned less than 3 million won a month. At Yeungnam University, 23 of 40, or 57.5%, fell into the same bracket, as did 18 of 32, or 56.3%, at Sunchon National University. At Yonsei University's industry-academic cooperation foundation, 311 of 1,016 researchers, or 30.6%, earned less than 3 million won.
Four in 10 on Contracts of a Year or Less
Short contract terms compounded the low pay. Among the postdoctoral researchers surveyed, 1,879, or 36.7%, were employed on contracts of a year or less. At the Catholic University of Korea, all 149 researchers surveyed were on such contracts, as were all 47 at Hanyang University's ERICA campus and all 40 at Yeungnam University.
At Chungbuk National University, 77 of 107 researchers, or 72.0%, were short-term contract workers. At Pohang University of Science and Technology, 206 of 306, or 67.3%, and at Hanyang University, 106 of 171, or 62.0%, worked on contracts of a year or less.
Poor Conditions Push Science and Engineering Talent Abroad
The conditions feed concerns about an outflow of highly trained researchers. In a Bank of Korea survey released last year, 42.9% of 1,916 domestic science and engineering master's and doctoral degree holders said they were considering moving abroad for work within three years. The most common reason was financial, including pay, cited by 66.7%.
A survey by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training this year found that among new doctorate holders last year, 17.7% in the natural sciences and 11.5% in engineering planned to move overseas. Among new natural science doctorate holders planning to move abroad, 91.3% said they intended to take up postdoctoral positions overseas.
The Education Ministry survey, however, was based on 101 of the 191 universities asked to submit data. Only 75 universities were included in the pay analysis, limiting how far the findings can be applied to all postdoctoral researchers in the country.
"The government stresses the cultivation of science and technology talent and expanded research and development investment, but it also needs to look closely at the pay of the doctoral-level researchers actually working in the field," Kim said. "The government and universities should consider together what appropriate pay levels for postdoctoral researchers would be and how to improve their conditions."