New data show the rate of wage increases in Korea rose in 2017 for the first time in three years.<br />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.<br />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.<br />The biggest raises were seen in waste water treatment, waste disposal and environmental restoration at 5 percent.<br />Observers chalk up the bigger raises to improvements in the economy -- notably, faster economic growth and a surge in exports. <br />
