Should SK hynix share record bonuses with public? Outlandish claim sparks uproar
SK hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province / Yonhap
Online debate is spreading over SK hynix’s hefty employee bonuses, which are expected to reach around 700 million won ($477,000) per person based on a simple calculation, with some even calling for the payouts to be shared among the public.
Such claims, which many deem to be far-fetched, have been circulating online as Korea’s two memory chip giants — SK hynix and Samsung Electronics — head toward record earnings this year on the back of a global chip supercycle.
The debate has gained traction on Blind, an anonymous workplace forum. A series of recent posts argue that the outsized gains of large conglomerates, many of which benefited from state support, should be shared more broadly with the public.
In one post, a user identifying as a civil servant wrote, “SK hynix once struggled and was revived with taxpayer money via the Korea Development Bank. If that’s the case, shouldn’t its bonuses be shared with the public as well?”
The comment referred to low-interest loans extended by the state-run bank during industry downturns in 2023.
Another commenter, identified as an employee at a regional branch of the Credit Guarantee Foundation, suggested a different approach, calling for paying bonuses in local currency vouchers, a form of regionally restricted spending credits used to boost local consumption.
“These companies didn’t succeed on their own; the public played a role too. It’s fine for employees to be rewarded, but the money should circulate within the domestic economy and not end up flowing into real estate.”
A stock ticker at Hana Bank headquarters in central Seoul shows shares of SK hynix at 1,136,000 won and Samsung Electronics at 211,000 won, Wednesday. Yonhap
Those arguments draw on the extensive government support that has long underpinned the semiconductor industry.
Over the years, the state has helped finance critical infrastructure such as power and water for chipmaking facilities. In 2023, it also passed an amendment to the tax law, popularly known as the “K-Chips Act,” offering up to 20 percent tax credits for research and facility investment. The combined tax benefits received by the two chipmakers over the past two years are estimated at around 20 trillion won.
Still, calls to share corporate bonuses have been met with swift pushback. Critics say the idea risks infringing on property rights. Others point out that companies and employees already contribute to society through taxes. More blunt responses argued that those seeking a share of the profits should buy the company’s stock.
SK hynix, which has agreed to remove the bonus cap and set employee payouts at 10 percent of operating earnings, is expected to generate about 250 trillion won in operating profit this year. Based on this, the total bonus pool for next year would come to 25 trillion won. For its workforce of 35,000, that translates to an average payout of 700 million won per person.
Estimates are even higher in some cases. Investment banking group Macquarie has forecast SK hynix’s operating profit at as high as 447 trillion won next year, which would push bonus payouts significantly higher.
At Samsung Electronics, unions are calling for 15 percent of operating profit to be set aside for bonuses.
Given local brokerage forecasts that the tech giant could post around 300 trillion won in profit this year, accepting such a proposal would push the total bonus pool to about 45 trillion won — equivalent to about 580 million won per employee, based on an estimated 77,000 workers in its semiconductor division.