Chairman Shin Dong-bin Tops Business Salaries Last Year with 17.7 Billion Won

Chung Eui-sun 12.2 Billion · Kim Seung-yeon 10.8 Billion
Lee Jae-hyun 9.9 Billion · Koo Kwang-mo 8.3 Billion
Chairman Lee Jae-yong Unpaid

Last year, among the heads of domestic business groups, Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, received the highest annual salary.

As of the 20th, based on the compilation of executive compensation disclosed in the 2023 business reports of major companies, Chairman Shin has received a total of 17.715 billion KRW from five Lotte Group companies that have completed disclosure so far.

Chairman Shin also receives salaries from Hotel Lotte and Lotte Property & Development, but since these companies have not yet disclosed their business reports, his actual annual salary is expected to be higher. Last year, he received a total of 18.98 billion KRW.

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group

Jung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, received compensation of 12.21 billion KRW, an increase of 1.575 billion KRW compared to the previous year.

Chairman Jung received a total of 8.21 billion KRW from Hyundai Motor, including a salary of 4 billion KRW and bonuses and other income of 4.21 billion KRW, and 4 billion KRW from Hyundai Mobis, including a salary of 2.5 billion KRW and bonuses of 1.5 billion KRW. Chairman Jung also serves as a registered executive at Kia but does not receive compensation from Kia.

Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha Group, received 10.8 billion KRW in compensation last year, an increase of about 1.8 billion KRW from 9.01 billion KRW the previous year.

Chairman Kim received 3.61 billion KRW from Hanwha Corporation, 3.6 billion KRW from Hanwha Systems, and 3.61 billion KRW from Hanwha Solutions last year.

Kim Dong-kwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Group and eldest son of Chairman Kim, received 9.199 billion KRW in compensation, an increase of about 1.7 billion KRW compared to the previous year.

Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha Group [Photo by Hanwha Group]

Lee Jae-hyun, Chairman of CJ Group, who was ranked first with 22.136 billion KRW in 2022, saw his total compensation decrease by 55.1% to 9.936 billion KRW last year, causing his ranking to drop.

This reflects the poor performance of major affiliates such as CJ CheilJedang.

Lee Jae-hyun, Chairman of CJ Group

Gu Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group, earned 8.329 billion KRW last year, about 12.1% less than the previous year. As CEO of LG Corporation, he received a salary of 4.672 billion KRW and bonuses of 3.657 billion KRW.

Cho Won-tae, Chairman of Hanjin Group, received 8.157 billion KRW in compensation last year, an increase of 57.3% compared to the previous year.

Chairman Cho received an annual salary of 3.917 billion KRW from Korean Air and 4.239 billion KRW from Hanjin KAL. Compared to the previous year, compensation from Korean Air increased by 64%, and compensation from Hanjin KAL rose by 51.6%.

This reflects the adjustment of executive compensation at Korean Air, which had been frozen for a long time, and the payment of performance bonuses, as well as the first-time payment of performance bonuses at Hanjin KAL reflecting the management performance of major subsidiaries.

Chairman Cho Won-tae of Hanjin Group Photo by Korean Air

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, received a total annual salary of 6 billion KRW. Last year, he received 2.5 billion KRW from SK Hynix and 3.5 billion KRW from SK Corporation.

Huh Tae-soo, Chairman of GS Group [Photo by GS Group]

Heo Tae-soo, Chairman of GS Group, received 5.466 billion KRW in compensation last year, down about 1.25 billion KRW from 6.716 billion KRW the previous year.

Jung Yong-jin, Chairman of Shinsegae Group, received a total of 3.699 billion KRW last year from Emart, including a salary of 1.982 billion KRW and bonuses of 1.717 billion KRW, slightly up from 3.615 billion KRW the previous year.

Chung Yong-jin, Chairman of Shinsegae Group [Photo by Shinsegae Group]

Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, has not received a salary from Samsung Electronics since 2017.

Among professional managers, Kim Ki-nam, Senior Advisor at Samsung Electronics who retired from SAIT (formerly Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology), received a total of 17.265 billion KRW, including retirement pay of 12.99 billion KRW, salary of 1.68 billion KRW, and bonuses of 2.445 billion KRW, placing him among the high earners.

Jang Dong-hyun, Vice Chairman and CEO of SK Ecoplant, received a total of 16.786 billion KRW, including retirement income of 12 billion KRW, salary of 2 billion KRW, and bonuses of 2.786 billion KRW from his previous affiliation, SK Corporation.

Additionally, Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, received 6.904 billion KRW including bonuses of 5.36 billion KRW, and Roh Tae-moon, President of the Mobile Experience (MX) Division, received 6.193 billion KRW including bonuses of 4.824 billion KRW.