Main gate of SK Hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. The controversy over performance bonuses that arose among SK Hynix employees has spread throughout large corporations.[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Park Chan-gu, chairman and CEO of Kumho Petrochemical, received a total compensation of 5.176 billion KRW from the company last year. His base salary was 2 billion KRW per month, totaling 2.4 billion KRW, with the remaining approximately 2.77 billion KRW paid as bonuses. The company roughly determines the bonus amount based on quantitative indicators such as sales and operating profit.
According to the executive bonus payment criteria roughly disclosed in last year's business report, the bonus amount can be up to 100% of the salary. The company stated that the bonus amount was calculated considering that Kumho Petrochemical's separate financial statements showed operating profit (297.5 billion KRW) exceeding the target, securing three new world-class products, and improving the financial structure which led to a better corporate bond credit rating.
Cho Hyun-joon, chairman of Hyosung Group, received 4.641 billion KRW from the holding company Hyosung. His base salary was 3.2 billion KRW, with the remaining approximately 1.44 billion KRW as bonuses. Similarly, compensation is determined by considering both quantitative indicators such as sales, operating profit, and net income, and non-quantitative indicators like global management. Although the timing of bonus payments is not specified, bonuses were paid within the same year based on the previous year's business performance.
The company explained, "He led the global business growth of group affiliates and customer-centric management," and "considered the strengthening of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management and continuous pursuit of new growth engines." This implies that beyond visible financial results, he achieved more important outcomes or played a significant role.
Choi Jung-woo, who succeeded in his reappointment as chairman of POSCO, received 1.927 billion KRW from the company last year. His base salary was frozen for the second consecutive year at 910 million KRW. In addition, he received 446 million KRW as short-term performance bonuses based on quantitative evaluations such as operating profit and earnings per share, combined with qualitative assessments that are difficult to quantify, and 333 million KRW as long-term performance bonuses evaluated over three years related to stock price and efforts to secure long-term competitiveness.
The amount classified as bonuses by the company totaled 1.019 billion KRW. Compared to the bonus of 709 million KRW the year after his inauguration, this represents an increase of over 40%. The average annual salary of employees excluding executives at this company was 96 million KRW, which increased by about 1 million KRW during the same period.
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