Self-Made CEO Kim Bong-jin's Next-Level 'Performance Sharing' (Comprehensive)

Giving Away 100 Billion KRW Personal Wealth as Free Shares to Employees and Riders
Average 50 Million KRW per Employee... Riders Receive 2 to 5 Million KRW
Over 1 Million KRW Performance Bonus for New Riders and B Mart Part-Timers
Woowa Brothers "Separate from Giving Pledge Donations... Will Announce Plans"

Bongjin Kim, Chairman of the Board at Woowa Brothers

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Kim Bong-jin, chairman of the board of directors at Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok, will distribute shares worth 100 billion KRW from his personal wealth free of charge to about 2,100 employees and riders. The average stock gift per employee is expected to reach approximately 50 million KRW. Long-term riders will receive shares valued between 2 million and 5 million KRW per person next month.

According to Woowa Brothers on the 11th, Chairman Kim sent a message to employees and riders stating, "I would like to give you OO shares of Delivery Hero (DH), a German company I own." Kim expressed, "I want to offer this personal gift as a token of gratitude for your hard work and dedication so far, as we take on bigger challenges expanding into Asia."

This means that Kim will share the DH shares he received from selling Baedal Minjok, the number one domestic delivery app, to DH. Kim will oversee Woowa Brothers and DH’s joint venture, Woowa DH Asia, and will depart for Singapore later this month.

Average Gift per Person 50 Million KRW... Shares Also Given to Riders

Chairman Kim will gift shares to about 1,700 members, including all employees of Woowa Brothers, Woowa Cheongnyeon (operator of Baemin Riders), and overseas subsidiaries (Vietnam and Japan). This applies to all employees who joined by the 28th of last month, with shares distributed differentially based on length of service regardless of rank or performance. The average gift per employee is about 50 million KRW. As of the 2nd of this month, DH shares are priced at 105.95 euros (about 140,000 KRW) per share. Employees will receive the shares three years later according to the contract terms with DH.

On the 2nd, a delivery worker recruitment notice was posted at a local center of a delivery agency in downtown Seoul. As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) resurges, the volume of delivery orders has surged, causing ongoing difficulties in securing delivery workers. According to Baedal Minjok, the total number of orders during the last week of August, from the 24th to the 30th, when COVID-19 spread was severe, increased by 26.5% compared to the last week of July (20th to 26th). Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Riders under a consignment system, who are essentially self-employed platform workers, will also receive shares. Those who have maintained contracts for over a year and have delivered more than 20 orders per day for at least 200 days annually are scheduled to receive shares next month. The value per rider ranges from 2 million to 5 million KRW depending on their working period.

Unlike employees, riders will receive shares next month thanks to DH’s cooperation. After hearing about Chairman Kim’s intention to gift shares, DH willingly agreed to expedite the process exceptionally for riders. This is the first time in Korea that personal shares have been provided free of charge to platform workers who are not employees.

Additionally, new riders and part-time workers at B Mart will receive encouragement bonuses of over 1 million KRW. Among riders who do not meet the stock grant criteria but have completed a certain number of deliveries, 1,390 individuals will receive 1 million KRW each as encouragement. About 830 part-time workers, including B Mart crew (warehouse staff) and fixed-term employees, will receive bonuses ranging from 1 million to 1.5 million KRW per person. In total, shares will be gifted to about 2,100 people, and bonuses will be paid to about 2,200 people.

Message from Chairman Kim Bong-jin to the riders

◆Already Pledged Half of Wealth to Society... "A Different Level of Sharing Success"

Last month, Chairman Kim attracted attention by pledging to donate half of his wealth to society through The Giving Pledge. His current wealth is estimated at around 1 trillion KRW, promising donations in the 500 billion KRW range. The donation amount is expected to increase as the business expands. This has been regarded as "a new form of social contribution and sharing of success by a self-made startup CEO, differentiated from existing approaches."

Woowa Brothers explained, "This stock gift is separate from the wealth pledged for social contribution through The Giving Pledge," adding, "It involves distributing shares personally held by Chairman Kim." They further stated, "Detailed implementation plans for fulfilling the Giving Pledge donation declaration will be announced soon once finalized."

The Giving Pledge is a voluntary donation movement initiated by Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft (MS), and Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, who pledged to donate their wealth to society. Chairman Kim is the first Korean to donate through The Giving Pledge and the 219th donor worldwide.