Last year, the domestic entertainment industry's 'king of annual salary' was found to be Park Jin-young, the founder and largest shareholder of JYP Entertainment (JYP Ent.). Following him was Yang Hyun-suk, the founder and largest shareholder of YG Entertainment, who ranked second as a general producer. Their influence as creators of the 'first-generation idols' in the entertainment industry is considered to remain significant.
However, since 2024 was a period of declining revenue for the four entertainment companies, there are criticisms that they have reaped excessive rewards.
On the 25th, a comprehensive review of the '2024 business reports' of the four entertainment companies showed that a total of 13 employees received salaries of 500 million won or more, which are subject to public disclosure.
Among them, Park Jin-young ranked first by receiving 3.16289 billion won last year. He displayed leadership to achieve company management goals such as the environmental performance (ESG) and earned a bonus of 250 million won. During this period, his salary was 662.89 million won.
The global rookie project mentioned in the business report appears to refer to the Korean-American girl group 'VCHA,' introduced in January 2024, in collaboration with the Universal Music Group's Republic Records. VCHA is currently in a temporary hiatus due to member KG, who was American, filing a contract termination lawsuit, although they are expected to make a comeback this year.
The runner-up was Yang Hyun-suk, who returned as a general producer in January 2023, about three and a half years later, earning 2.610 billion won. Following the representative artist of YG, 'Blackpink,' he announced the debut of a rookie girl group named 'BabyMonster' as he resumed his activities. The company explained, 'The annual salary was calculated based on the actual revenue generated from the overall producer's role in the production of their artists’ music and concerts.'
Park Ji-won, the former CEO who joined as the chief executive officer (CEO) when HYBE was using the name Big Hit Entertainment in May 2020, followed closely with an annual salary of 2.33 billion won. He led the company's growth from its IPO to the name change to HYBE and the restructuring of the multi-label system. He is also recognized as a key contributor to exceeding annual revenue of 2 trillion won. He has since stepped down due to a management conflict with former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin in July last year.
During this period, Bang Si-hyuk, the chairman of HYBE, did not receive a salary but earned 980 million won in bonuses. The company stated, 'This is a performance incentive based on the management results of 2023,' adding that 'This period saw the successful launch of a rookie group, entry into global markets, and various business initiatives aimed at discovering future growth engines amidst rapidly changing internal and external environments.' He also received other earned income of 8 million won, bringing his total annual salary to 988 million won.
Additionally, Jung Wook, the CEO of JYP, earned 1.91714 billion won, Vice President Byeon Sang-bong received 1.27869 billion won, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Lee Kyung-jun of HYBE earned 1.167 billion won, Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Jung Jin-soo of HYBE earned 1.066 billion won, YG CEO Yang Min-seok earned 960 million won, and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Kim Tae-ho of HYBE earned 936 million won, among the top earners.
Meanwhile, all major executives at SME (SM Entertainment) received annual salaries under 1 billion won. Co-CEOs Tak Young-jun and Jang Cheol-hyuk each received annual salaries of 810 million won. Lee Sung-soo, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the nephew of SM founder Lee Soo-man, received a salary of 383 million won and a bonus of 350 million won, totaling 733 million won.
However, there are also criticisms that such bonus festivities are inappropriate in light of poor performance. The year 2024 has been referred to as a 'year of hardship' for the domestic entertainment industry, having hit rock bottom. This is due to the absence of activities from major artists such as BTS and Blackpink, which led to a slowdown in album sales, alongside investment expenses for the discovery of rookie artists.
In particular, YG's revenue was recorded at 364.9 billion won last year, a 36% decrease from the previous year. Operating profit turned into a loss. However, Yang Hyun-suk still earned 538 million won more than his 2023 salary of 2.072 billion won.
During the same period, despite HYBE, SME, and JYP reporting record high revenues, their operating profits also decreased by double digits. As for HYBE, its net profit, which refers to the final revenue after excluding operating expenses and special profits, turned into a loss of 3.4 billion won.