Last year, the stock price of E8IGHT, a digital twin solution corporation that was listed on the Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations market, is currently only one-fifth of the initial public offering price, but Kim Jin-hyun, the representative of E8IGHT, reportedly received a total of 530 million won in salary last year. He is one of the few individuals with a salary of more than 500 million won at HIGEN RNM, which entered the stock market around the same time and saw its stock price soar due to the robot boom.
E8IGHT entered the Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations market in February 2024 at an initial public offering price of 20,000 won (based on a revised stock price of 18,399 won). Starting a month after its listing, the stock price began to dip below the initial public offering price and is currently trading at around 3,200 won following a rights issue for existing shareholders that occurred after one year.
On the other hand, HIGEN RNM, which produces actuators for robots, was listed on the Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations market at an initial public offering price of 7,000 won in June 2024. The stock price of HIGEN RNM has surpassed 50,000 won this year amid a surge in robot stocks. Although the current stock price has dropped nearly 40% from its peak, it remains over four times higher than the initial public offering price.
Among the three corporations that entered the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets last year, two have stock prices below their initial public offering prices. However, it appears that the stock performance does not correlate with the salaries of representatives and executives.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 28th, among the 77 stocks listed last year (excluding special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC) and real estate investment trusts (REITs)), only 21 had closing prices higher than their initial public offering prices the previous day. Companies like HIGEN RNM, WOOJIN Ntec, and JUNJIN Construction Robot have current stock prices that have tripled compared to their initial public offering prices. However, none of these corporations had employees who received over 500 million won in compensation last year.
The highest compensation among newly listed stocks with prices exceeding their initial public offering price was received by Kim Byeong-hoon, the representative of APR. He received a total of 3 billion won, including a salary of 2 billion won and a bonus of 1 billion won. APR began trading on the KOSPI market at an initial public offering price of 250,000 won (based on a revised stock price of 50,000 won) last year. After experiencing price adjustments, it currently maintains a level approximately 40% higher than the initial public offering price thanks to performance growth and stock splits.
Lee Gi-dong, president of HD Hyundai Marine Solution, and Choi Ji-yong, president of HYUNDAI HYMS, received salaries of 1.41 billion won and 1.216 billion won, respectively, last year. The benefits from exercising stock options were 468.35 million won for Lee and 663 million won for Choi. The stock prices of HD Hyundai Marine Solution and HYUNDAI HYMS have risen 1.7 times and 2 times, respectively, benefiting from the favorable environment in the shipbuilding industry.
Conversely, despite stock prices being below their initial public offering prices, many newly listed stocks still have high earners. Lee Jae-young, the representative of K3I, received 659 million won last year through salary and bonuses. K3I, an extended reality (XR) solution corporation, saw its stock price fall to the 4,000 won range from its initial public offering price of 15,500 won last August.
POSBANK, a manufacturer of kiosk terminals, saw its stock price drop to one-third of its initial public offering price of 18,000 won when it was listed in January last year. However, Eundong-wook, the representative of POSBANK, received a salary of 610 million won last year.
Among the newly listed stocks with current prices below their initial public offering prices, the highest compensation was received by Lee Bong-eun, the vice president of Lumir, who earned a total of 3.203 billion won last year.
Hwang Yoo-seon, the representative of HB Investment, reported a total compensation of 1.743 billion won last year. This figure includes a salary of 383 million won, a performance bonus of 1.147 billion won from fund formation and revenue achievements, and a profit of 213 million won from exercising stock options.
Theborn Korea, led by representative Baek Jong-won, also experienced a decline of approximately 15% compared to its initial public offering price (34,000 won) amidst controversies surrounding 'Beek Ham' price inflation and origin labeling. Baek received 822 million won in compensation last year.
In addition, Kim Jeong-hee of H&S HighTech received 989 million won, Kim Jeong-deuk of INICS received 985 million won, Kim Hyeong-tae of SHIFT UP received 907 million won, and Park Yeong-geun of Top Run Total Solution received 637 million won. Although their stock prices are below their initial public offering prices, they still received more than 500 million won in compensation last year.
While it is not possible to determine the compensation for company representatives and executives solely based on stock prices, it is not a pleasant situation for shareholders facing investment losses due to the sharp decline in stock prices.
A representative of Company A listed last year expressed that he feels 'sorry to shareholders due to the stock price' and stated, 'We will work to grow the company to enhance shareholder value and earn compensation with importance.'