Samsung’s chip and display exec is paid most

Kwon Oh-hyun, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, was the country’s highest-paid corporate executive, receiving some 14 billion won ($12.3 million) in the first half of the year, and is once again to become the top wage-earner this year, data showed on Monday.

According to a semi-annual business report compiled by Samsung, Kwon received a paycheck totaling 13.9 billion won in the first six months of the year, a whopping increase from 2.9 billion won a year earlier.

Kwon, who is in charge of Samsung’s semiconductor and display unit, was the country’s most highly paid corporate executive for the second straight year with his earnings tallied at 6.7 billion won in 2016 and 14.95 billion won in 2015.

His income includes a one-time special bonus worth 8 billion won as the unit posted record earnings in the January-June period.

Suh Kyung-bae, president of AmorePacific, the No. 1 cosmetics maker, came in second with a salary of 9.64 billion won, according to its semi-annual business report.

Yoon Boo-keun, a Samsung Electronics president who leads the tech giant’s consumer electronics business unit, came in third, receiving some 5.1 billion won. Shin Jong-kyun, who heads Samsung’s IT & Mobile Communications Division, ranked fourth with 5 billion won, Samsung’s business report showed.

Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group whose affiliates include Hyundai Motor, was paid some 4 billion won, while Chey Tae-won, chairman of energy and telecom conglomerate SK Group, received 1 billion won in the first half of the year.

In Korea, companies are required to release the salary information of executives who earn more than 500 million won a year if they are members of the board of directors. YONHAP