Gwak Nojeong SK Hynix President "1500% Performance Bonus, Aware of Dissatisfaction"
by Park Soyeon
Published 24 Jan.2025 14:12(KST)
Updated 24 Jan.2025 17:49(KST)
Soothing Concerns Over Performance Bonuses Through Internal Announcement
Emphasizing Deliberation on Rewards and Labor-Management Cooperation
Kwack No-jeong, CEO of SK Hynix, stated in an internal announcement on the 24th, "I understand that there may be dissatisfaction with the (performance bonus) decision and opinions that it is insufficient compared to last year's performance."
Although SK Hynix proposed the largest performance bonus ever as it recorded its highest-ever performance last year, some members expressed dissatisfaction that the size of the bonus fell short of expectations, including opposition from the labor union.
Amid the AI boom, SK Hynix, which gained an advantage in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, recorded consolidated sales and operating profit of KRW 66.193 trillion and KRW 23.4673 trillion respectively last year, marking the best performance since its founding.
CEO Kwack mentioned, "There was much deliberation on how to reasonably decide the compensation for performance exceeding the company's Profit Sharing (PS) payment criteria."
SK Hynix, which achieved its highest-ever performance last year, decided to pay a total performance bonus of 1500%, including PS 1000% and a special performance bonus of 500%. This amounts to 75% of the annual salary, the highest level ever.
Kwack explained, "Operating profit in 2024, excluding Solidigm, increased by about KRW 1 trillion compared to 2018, which was the highest ever. Based on this, the company decided on the historically highest level of 1500%, reflecting qualitative factors such as the significance of achieving the highest performance, technological competitiveness, past special performance bonus cases and grounds, and the quality of profits due to increased personnel."
He added, "Although we had multiple consultations with the labor union regarding appropriate standards and levels, unfortunately, we could not reach a common conclusion," emphasizing, "Now is the time to unite and work together to create a new future. I hope labor and management will soon restore a cooperative relationship based on trust."
He also expressed, "I sincerely thank the members who made new history by achieving the highest-ever performance," and said, "As CEO, I will also think more about the happiness of the members and the future of the company."
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