South Korea's annual average employment growth rate was 2.6 percent during the same period.

The number of employees in the pharmaceutical industry jumped 45 percent to 940,510 in 2015 from 650,003 in 2005 while the overall manufacturing industry has witnessed a more modest 16 percent increase to 4,006,000 in 2015 from 3,433,000 in 2005.

In the ratio of the number of employees to sales, the pharmaceutical industry also outpaced the manufacturing sector with each employee generating 180 million won ($158,576) in sales versus 450 million won.

"The pharmaceutical industry has been more active in job creation although it lags behind the overall manufacturing industry in regards to sales increase," an official of the association said.

The pharmaceutical industry also provides more stable job security, he said.

The proportion of regular workers in the pharmaceutical industry was 91.4 percent in 2015 while the comparable figure was 67.5 percent and 86.3 percent, each for the country as a whole and the manufacturing segment. (Yonhap)