A Study of Care Workers’ Wages and Relevant Factors in South Korea

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the wages of South Korea’s care workers as reported by the Korean national health insurance services database. We also try to identify the factors determining the wages of these 1,221,085 care workers. According to the results of the analysis, first, the wage level of care workers is fundamentally low compared to other jobs; second, the labor conditions of home care facilities (compared to those in residential care facilities) are poor, because these depend on wages, which in turn depend on the external environment, such as care institutes’ management; and third, it was verified that the locations of care institutes affect the wages of care workers. As the South Korean population continues to age, the supply of high-quality care workers has important clinical implications for improving the quality of care received by the elderly. Throughout this study, it is argued that the establishment of a social service corporation has become desirable in terms of strengthening public care institutes in Korea.