Samsung Electronics' 'Salary King' Kim Ki-nam... Employee Salaries Down 11% Amid Semiconductor Slump

Kim Ki-nam 17.2 billion, Lee Won-jin 8.6 billion, Jin Gyo-young 8.5 billion
Employee salaries down 11.1% to 12 million KRW
Kia, Hyundai Mobis, etc. see employee salary increases

The highest-paid employee at Samsung Electronics last year was Kim Ki-nam, Senior Advisor who retired from SAIT (formerly Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology). The average employee salary last year was 120 million KRW, down more than 10% from the previous year.

According to Samsung Electronics' 2023 business report disclosed on the 12th, Senior Advisor Kim received 17.265 billion KRW last year. This included retirement pay of 12.99 billion KRW, salary of 1.68 billion KRW, and bonuses of 2.445 billion KRW.

Kim Ki-nam, Senior Advisor of Samsung Electronics and Chairman of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, is delivering a New Year's address at the National Academy of Engineering of Korea's New Year ceremony held on January 29 at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Lee Won-jin, former Vice President of Google and ex-head of Samsung Electronics Service Biz Team, ranked second with 8.6 billion KRW. He received retirement pay of 2.431 billion KRW, among other payments. Third place went to Jin Gyo-young, former SAIT President and Advisor, who received 8.485 billion KRW, including retirement pay of 5.259 billion KRW.

The highest-paid 'active' employee was Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and CEO as well as head of the DX (Device eXperience) division. Han received 6.904 billion KRW last year, consisting of a salary of 1.467 billion KRW, bonuses of 5.36 billion KRW, and welfare benefits of 130 million KRW.

No Tae-moon, President of the Mobile eXperience (MX) Business Unit in the DX division, received 6.193 billion KRW last year, including bonuses of 4.824 billion KRW, ranking fifth overall and second among active employees.

Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, is answering reporters' questions at a press conference held for Korean journalists at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, USA, on January 9 (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The 'semiconductor downturn' led to an Excess Profit Incentive (OPI) rate of 0%, which affected the salaries of employees in the Device Solutions (DS) division. Kyung Kye-hyun, CEO and head of the DS division, received 2.43 billion KRW, including a salary of 1.205 billion KRW, bonuses of 1.109 billion KRW, and welfare benefits of 89 million KRW. This was an 18.6% decrease from 2.953 billion KRW in 2022. The bonuses include not only performance incentives (with a 0% payout rate) but also Lunar New Year and Chuseok bonuses (equivalent to 100% of monthly salary).

The total compensation paid to five inside directors last year was 22.09 billion KRW, averaging 4.42 billion KRW per person. This represents a 23.9% decrease compared to the previous year's total of 28.93 billion KRW (average 5.786 billion KRW per person).

The semiconductor downturn also impacted employees. The average salary per Samsung Electronics employee last year was 120 million KRW, down 11.1% from 135 million KRW the previous year. Male employees earned 128 million KRW, while female employees earned 97 million KRW.

Samsung Electronics stated that the average salary per employee was calculated based on 120,509 employees out of a total workforce of 124,207. Employees on leave were included in the calculation, but 11 registered executives and contract workers were excluded.

However, the average salary of non-registered executives slightly increased from 703 million KRW in 2022 to 726 million KRW last year. Samsung Electronics explained this was because executives who received long-term performance bonuses for the strong results from 2020 to 2022 were included.

Hyundai Kia Yangjae Headquarters.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

Among companies that have released business reports as of this date, Samsung Electro-Mechanics' employee salary decreased by 1% from 97 million KRW in 2022 to 96 million KRW last year. LG Uplus maintained the same salary of 101 million KRW as the previous year.

Some companies, such as automakers, saw employee salaries increase. Hyundai Mobis rose 13.9% from 108 million KRW to 123 million KRW, and Kia increased 13.4% from 112 million KRW to 127 million KRW. LG Innotek, which operates in automotive electrical and electronic equipment, also increased by 2.5% from 80 million KRW to 82 million KRW.

Samsung C&T increased by 8.8%, Korea Zinc by 7.9%, and Hyosung Heavy Industries by 5.4% over one year.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has reportedly not received a salary from Samsung Electronics from 2017 through last year.

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