Youngseop Kim of KT received 1.4 billion won
Beomsik Hong of LG Uplus received 700 million won
In the first half of this year, among the CEOs of the three major domestic mobile carriers, Yoo Youngsang, CEO of SK Telecom, received the highest remuneration, totaling 2.636 billion won.
According to the semiannual reports disclosed by the three telecom companies on the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system (DART) on August 18, Yoo received 770 million won in salary, 1.82 billion won in bonuses, and 46 million won in other earned income in the first half of this year, amounting to a total of 2.636 billion won. This figure represents a 10.8% increase compared to the same period last year (2.38 billion won).
SK Telecom explained that the increase in Yoo’s remuneration was due to achievements such as continued growth in revenue from AI data centers (AIDC) and AI transformation (AIX) in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, as well as a rise in key indicators for A.Dot. The company also noted that profitability continued to improve through enhanced competitiveness in the mobile network operator (MNO) business.
However, the remuneration for the first half of this year was calculated based on last year’s management performance, and the large-scale hacking incident that occurred in April has not yet been reflected. An SK Telecom representative stated, “The CEO evaluation, which affects remuneration calculation, is based on a comprehensive assessment of quantitative indicators such as revenue, operating profit, and return on investment, as well as qualitative indicators such as execution of strategic tasks, leadership, and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) contributions. The board of directors determines the weighting of each indicator in the evaluation.”
Youngseop Kim, CEO of KT, received 1.437 billion won in remuneration for the first half of the year. This consisted of 278 million won in salary, 1.151 billion won in bonuses, and 8 million won in other earned income. Notably, this amount surged by 132.9% compared to the same period last year (617 million won), marking the highest rate of increase among the three telecom companies.
The main reason for the increase in remuneration was the significant rise in bonuses, which jumped from 332 million won in the first half of last year to 1.151 billion won this year. KT explained, “The performance bonus for the previous year was paid after a comprehensive evaluation of business performance, such as revenue and operating profit, executive achievements and contributions, and both internal and external management environments.”
Beomsik Hong, CEO of LG Uplus, received 714 million won in the first half, making him the lowest-paid CEO among the three telecom companies. As he was newly appointed in November last year, he only received a salary and did not receive any bonuses or other earned income.
In contrast, Hyunsik Hwang, the former CEO of LG Uplus who stepped down last year, received a total of 5.552 billion won, including a severance payment of 4.453 billion won, making him the actual highest earner. In addition to the severance pay, this amount included 449 million won in salary, 644 million won in bonuses, and 8 million won in other income.
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