The Effect of 'Stock Options'... Game Company Employees Who Earned More Than the CEO

[Asia Economy Reporters Kang Nahum and Boo Aeri] The gaming industry has seen a surge of high-earning stars receiving over 500 million KRW in compensation. The main cause is the exercise of stock options, with most of these individuals earning more than their CEOs.

According to Pearl Abyss's semi-annual report on the 18th, developer Park Byungjun, a team leader at the company, received 522 million KRW in the first half of this year, ranking fifth in the company for high compensation. The other four positions above him are at the 'department head' level, which is higher than team leader.

A Pearl Abyss representative explained, "The exercise of stock options during the period resulted in higher compensation compared to other executives." In fact, Park's salary and bonuses were 57 million KRW and 16 million KRW respectively, but the profit from exercising stock options amounted to 535 million KRW.

Additionally, Cheon Bonggeun, a department head at the company, received 823 million KRW, making him the highest-paid individual within the company. The exercise of stock options (718 million KRW) was also a significant factor.

At Devsisters, several executives received more compensation than the CEOs. Excluding co-CEOs Lee Jihoon and Kim Jongheun, the top three individuals by compensation each recorded over 1.7 billion KRW in total compensation in the first half through stock options.

The highest total compensation in the first half was recorded by Hong Sungjin, Chief Technology Officer (CTO). By exercising stock options, he earned a profit of 2.1 billion KRW. Combining his salary (125 million KRW) and bonuses (192 million KRW) for the first half, his total compensation reached 2.417 billion KRW.

At Krafton, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Kwon Jeonghyun received 2.565 billion KRW in compensation for the first half of the year. This amount is approximately 1 billion KRW more than that of the company's CEO, Kim Changhan, who received 1.585 billion KRW.

Krafton explained, "The resources were calculated based on the company's financial and non-financial performance, considering the contribution to last year's results," adding, "Long-term incentives were also paid reflecting the company's financial performance and growth value."

In the IT industry, Kakao's Senior Vice President Bae Jaehyun earned a total of 8.107 billion KRW through exercising stock options, surpassing co-CEOs Cho Sooyong (4.281 billion KRW) and Yeo Minsu (2.410 billion KRW) in compensation. Additionally, Shin Junghwan, head of new business (6.408 billion KRW), Kwon Seungjo, former head of intellectual property (6.192 billion KRW), and Jeong Eejung, head of technology (4.248 billion KRW) also made the list of top earners at Kakao through stock option exercises.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.