At the very top, the big bucks are paid at Lotte, CJ and LG groups

Among the leaders of the top 10 chaebol, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin was the No. 1 earner last year, according to annual company reports filed with the Financial Supervisory Service on Monday.

Executives from listed companies are required to disclose their earnings if they make more than 500 million won ($406,000) a year. This year, a total of 63 listed companies have been unable to file their reports due to the coronavirus outbreak,

Shin’s remuneration, which includes payment from seven Lotte Group companies, totaled 18.18 billion won, which is a 10.3 billion won more than the 7.82 billion won disclosed in 2018.

The biggest payment came from Lotte Chemical, which paid Shin 4.13 billion won. According to Lotte, 938 million won of severance pay from Lotte Engineering & Construction was included in the total.

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun and former LG Group Vice Chairman Koo Bon-joon also received more than 10 billion won in compensation last year. Lee received 12.46 billion won from three companies, including 6.19 billion won from CJ. Koo, who stepped down last March, was paid 12.1 billion won, including 9.84 billion won of severance pay.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo received 7.04 billion won in compensation last year. Euisun Chung, now Hyundai Motor chairman, received 5.19 billion won in total, 3.42 billion won from Hyundai Motor and 1.787 billion won from Hyundai Mobis. Compared to the previous year, his annual remuneration increased by 2.24 billion won. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won received 6 billion won in compensation last year, the same as 2018. It is 3 billion won each from SK and SK hynix. LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo received 5.40 billion won last year.

GS Engineering & Construction Chairman Huh Chang-soo, who headed the Federation of Korean Industries, received 5.52 billion won in compensation last year. Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae received 1.89 billion won in compensation last year, including 515 million won for Hanjin KAL and 1.38 billion won for Korean Air. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn were not paid last year.

Park Sam-koo, former chairman of Kumho Asiana Group, received 6.48 billion won in compensation last year. Despite the financial difficulties that resulted in the sale of the company’s stake in Asiana Airlines, Park received 5.1 billion won worth of severance pay. Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft, received 9.45 billion won in remuneration last year.

Cho Dae-sik, chairman of SK Supex Council, topped the list of professional managers by receiving 4.66 billion won in compensation last year. Samsung Electronics Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun received 4.64 billion won last year, down 2.4 billion won from the previous year. Jeong Ho-young, CEO of LG Display, received 3.6 billion won of severance pay after stepping down from president’s position at LG Chem, taking in 4.64 billion won in total.

SK Telecom President Park Jung-ho received 4.53 billion won last year. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, who leads the company’s semiconductor and display businesses, received 3.45 billion won. SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun received 3.152 billion won in compensation last year. Lee Seok-hee, CEO of SK hynix, received 2.78 billion won.

Kim Chang-geun, the former chairman of SK Innovation who retired in March last year, received 13.77 billion won in compensation. Youn Yeo-chul, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor, received 1.85 billion won last year, and Vice Chairman of Hanwha Keum Choon-soo received 1.99 billion won.

Orange Life Insurance President Jung Moon-Guk received the most among current CEOs in the financial sector. Jung earned 21.04 billion won last year by exercising stock options for a 19.45 billion won gain. Jung’s salary for 2018 was 1.65 billion won. Hyundai Card Vice Chairman Chung Tae-young received 3.99 billion won in compensation last year.

BY KANG KI-HUN, KIM TAE-YOON, KIM JUNG-MIN AND SUNG JI-WON [kim.yeonah@joongang.co.kr]