There is a projection that Samsung Electronics' average annual compensation (annual salary) per employee last year will exceed 150 million won.

The Korea CXO Research Institute, a corporate analysis specialist, announced on the 19th the "2025 Analysis of Samsung Electronics Employees' Average Compensation and Changes in Labor Costs, and Monthly National Pension Subscriber Status," and presented this outlook. Based on the recently submitted audit report, the institute calculated the expected average salary per employee and related figures. The average salary calculation covers non-registered executives and general staff at department head level and below, excluding registered executives, and the number of employees was analyzed using the number of National Pension subscribers as the benchmark.

CXO Research Institute calculates average expected employee salary for 2025

Non-registered executives and employees at department head level and below
KRW 153 million - KRW 158 million range
Total employee payroll expected to be around KRW 19 trillion

Number of National Pension subscribers decreased by 597 people
Likely reflects a relative decrease due to new hiring and other factors

Based on the audit report (separate financial statements basis) submitted on the 12th, the Korea CXO Research Institute estimated that Samsung Electronics' expected average annual salary per employee for 2025 will be in the range of approximately 153 million won to 158 million won. Considering that the actual average compensation paid in 2024 was around 130 million won, employees' annual pay packets would thicken by close to 20% in just one year.

According to the institute, if the total employee salary amount recorded in Samsung Electronics' audit report is taken as 100, the total employee salary amount disclosed in the actual business report has remained at around 98% to 100% each year. By year, the figures are: 97.8% in 2017, 99.9% in 2018, 99.8% in 2019, 98.8% in 2020, 100.5% in 2021, 98.5% in 2022, 98.6% in 2023, and 100.7% in 2024.

The total amount of Samsung Electronics' employee compensation (salaries plus retirement benefits) for 2025 identified through the audit report submitted on the 12th is 19.7963 trillion won, and the total compensation for executives and employees to be disclosed soon in the business report is highly likely to be in the range of 19.4 trillion won to 19.93 trillion won. This is a value calculated on the assumption that the number of Samsung Electronics employees is between 125,300 and 127,100.

Korea CXO Research Institute announced on the 19th the "2025 Analysis of Average Compensation of Samsung Electronics Employees, Changes in Labor Costs, and Monthly National Pension Subscriber Status." Korea CXO Research Institute

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Meanwhile, the number of Samsung Electronics employees based on National Pension subscribers as of December last year was 124,996, down by 597 from December 2024 (125,593). This contrasts with the increase of more than 4,716 between December 2023 and December 2024. Although the number of National Pension subscribers does not correspond exactly to the total number of employees, it can be inferred that new hiring and other factors relatively decreased last year compared with 2024.

Oilseon, head of the Korea CXO Research Institute, said, "As artificial intelligence (AI) develops rapidly, we are seeing an 'AI-era employment backlash' in which some global tech companies reduce headcount even when their performance is strong," adding, "For major conglomerates including Samsung Electronics, business performance such as operating profit is highly likely to improve significantly this year, but the pace of employment growth may be slower than expected due to AI adoption and management efficiency considerations."