New data show the rate of wage increases in Korea rose in 2017 for the first time in three years.
Statistics Korea and the labor ministry said companies with more than 100 regular employees... agreed with their labor unions on an average pay rise of 3-point-6 percent.
Raises had been getting smaller since 2014, when they hit 4-point-1 percent, declining to a low in 2016 of 3-point-3 percent.
The biggest raises were seen in waste water treatment, waste disposal and environmental restoration at 5 percent.
Observers chalk up the bigger raises to improvements in the economy -- notably, faster economic growth and a surge in exports.