Total Remuneration for Registered Directors Amounts to 32.3 Billion KRW... Estimated 31.5 Billion KRW Paid to Inside Directors
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hye-young] It has been revealed that Samsung Electronics' top executives received an average annual salary of over 6 billion KRW last year.
According to the 'Proxy Voting Reference Materials' recently submitted by Samsung Electronics to the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Exchange on the 18th, Samsung Electronics paid a total of 32.3 billion KRW to 11 registered directors last year (5 inside directors and 6 outside directors).
The compensation for outside directors is fixed according to the 'Outside Director Treatment Regulations.' Considering that the six outside directors of Samsung Electronics, including former Minister of Strategy and Finance Park Jae-wan, received a total of 800 million KRW in 2020 and that there were no changes in the composition since then, it is estimated that the amount was similar last year.
Excluding the payments to outside directors, the total compensation received last year by the five top executives who served as inside directors, including Kim Ki-nam, Chairman of Samsung Electronics' Comprehensive Technology Institute, was approximately 31.5 billion KRW. This means an average annual salary of 6.3 billion KRW per person.
The five who served as inside directors of Samsung Electronics last year were Kim Ki-nam, Ko Dong-jin, Kim Hyun-suk, former CEOs, Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and head of the DX Division (then head of the Visual Display Business Division), and Choi Yoon-ho, President of Samsung SDI (then head of Samsung Electronics' Management Support Office).
Samsung Electronics' inside directors' compensation varies annually based on 'target incentives' paid twice a year within 200% of monthly salary, 'performance incentives' within 50% of annual salary, and 'long-term performance incentives' paid over three years based on profitability.
The average annual salary per inside director at Samsung Electronics was 3.04 billion KRW in 2019 and 5.375 billion KRW in 2020. Last year, it is analyzed that the amount increased further, supported by Samsung Electronics achieving record-high sales and strong performance.
In 2020, Chairman Kim Ki-nam received a total of 8.3 billion KRW in salary, including a bonus of 6.6 billion KRW. Former CEO Ko Dong-jin received 6.7 billion KRW, former CEO Kim Hyun-suk received 5.5 billion KRW, Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee received 4.2 billion KRW, and President Choi Yoon-ho received 3 billion KRW.
Former Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun, who left active duty after serving as Vice Chairman, received a total of 17.2 billion KRW including retirement pay, ranking first in compensation at Samsung Electronics in 2020.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has not received any compensation from the company since 2017.
The specific individual annual salaries of Samsung Electronics' registered directors for last year are scheduled to be disclosed next month through the business report and other documents. Since the 2013 amendment of the Capital Markets Act, the compensation of registered executives of listed companies receiving over 500 million KRW annually is required to be disclosed.
Last year, Samsung Electronics recorded sales of 279.6 trillion KRW and operating profit of 51.63 trillion KRW, driven by the semiconductor boom. Sales were the highest ever since the company's founding, and operating profit ranked third all-time.
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