Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, will receive compensation from Kia starting this year. After five years since taking office as chairman of Hyundai Motor Group in 2020, his annual salary is expected to increase nearly fourfold this year, making him the highest-paid head of a conglomerate.
According to the automotive industry on the 24th, Kia will hold its regular shareholder meeting on March 14 and approve a proposal to raise the director's compensation cap from 8 billion won to 17.5 billion won. The increase of 9.5 billion won in the cap for Kia directors in just one year is due to the reflection of Chung's compensation starting this year. Until now, he has held executive positions at Hyundai and Kia, as well as Hyundai Mobis, but did not receive compensation from Kia.
If the proposal to approve the director's compensation cap passes, Chung's annual salary from Hyundai Motor Group is expected to increase significantly. After becoming chairman of Hyundai Motor Group in October 2020, he received 4.008 billion won from Hyundai and 1.972 billion won from Hyundai Mobis, totaling 5.98 billion won from the group.
In the following year, 2021, he received a total of 8.776 billion won (5.41 billion won from Hyundai and 3.375 billion won from Hyundai Mobis). This amount is approximately a 47% increase over the previous year.
In 2022, Chung received 7.01 billion won from Hyundai and 3.625 billion won from Hyundai Mobis, totaling 10.626 billion won, surpassing 10 billion won for the first time.
In 2023, when Hyundai and Kia began a streak of record-breaking performances, his annual salary increased to 12.21 billion won. This amount made him the second highest-paid head of a conglomerate, following Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group, who received 17.715 billion won in the same year.
Considering the annual salary increase rate since his appointment, it is believed that he received a salary in the 14 billion won range last year. If the compensation from Kia is added this year, it is likely that his salary will exceed 20 billion won. In this case, his salary would increase nearly fourfold in the five years since his appointment. With expectations that other heads of conglomerates will not see significant salary increases this year, there are also predictions that Chung might rise to the position of highest-paid head of a conglomerate.