In South Korea, the Department of Finance and Economy reported that the income tax collected from workers reached a historical peak of 68.4 trillion won for the previous year, marking an increase of 7.4 trillion won from the previous year. This rise is attributed to an increase in wage-earning workers and nominal wages, with figures from the Ministry of Employment and Labor showing the number of regular employees increased slightly from 17.04 million to 17.052 million from 2023 to 2024. Despite the increased workforce, the average nominal wage per regular employee also saw a rise, reaching 4.201 million won in November of the previous year, up by 4.3% from the year prior.

However, despite this unprecedented level of income tax revenue, the effective tax rate remains critically low, reported at just 6.9% based on the latest statistics for 2024. This stable yet low rate has persisted since 2021 due to the expansion of various tax deductions and exemptions that contribute to a reduced actual tax burden for income earners. For example, a worker with a taxable income of 50 million won could see their tax burden significantly decrease from the calculated amount of 6 million won to approximately 1.4 million won or less, due to the average effective tax rate in that income bracket.

When compared internationally, South Korea's effective income tax rate is notably low. According to the OECD’s 'Wage Taxation 2025' report, in 2024, the effective tax rate for a single worker without children earning an average salary was 6.9%, ranking South Korea 33rd out of 38 countries surveyed. It trails significantly behind countries like Australia (25.3%), the United States (15.5%), and France (16.7%), as well as the OECD average of 15.4%, indicating room for potential reform in the taxation structure for wage earners in South Korea.