The gender pay gap at Korea's public institutions fell below 20 percent for the first time on record, part of a broader trend seen across the private sector as well. Women at public institutions earned an average of 60.56 million won ($45,300) in 2025, 19 percent less than men's 74.79 million won, according to a gender wage statistics survey released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Monday. The survey covered 3,146 companies subject to disclosure requirements and 355 public institutions. The gap narrowed 1 percentage point from a year earlier, the first time it has fallen below 20 percent since the ministry began compiling the statistics in 2020. Women's wages at public institutions rose 4.1 percent from a year earlier, outpacing a 2.9 percent gain for men. Average tenure stood at 10.6 years for men and 8.7 years for women, narrowing the tenure gap 1.8 percentage points to 18.1 percent. "Public institutions have wage systems that strictly limit gender discrimination, while private companies are less affected by those systems," said Kim Sung-hee, a professor at Korea Univ