As SK hynix paid employees an unprecedented performance bonus to maximize memory semiconductor revenue, public interest in the move is growing. With an unprecedented supercycle (boom period), SK hynix employees, who received "hundred-million-won bonuses" last year, are expected to earn big incomes this year and next as well.
However, some analysts say the take-home pay (the amount received after taxes) may be smaller than the general public assumes. Because Korea has adopted a progressive surtax system, the higher the total income (the sum of annual salary and bonuses), the more taxes are levied. While the income level of SK hynix employees is relatively high compared with ordinary workers, observers say there is a gap with how it is portrayed in online memes.
On the 29th, based on consultations with multiple accounting and tax experts and estimates using the expected total income of an SK hynix employee, ChosunBiz calculated that a new hire likely took home around 110 million won last year. The total income of a new SK hynix employee last year was about 150 million won, of which an estimated 30% was paid in taxes.
SK hynix's pay structure is broadly divided into production and facilities roles (field positions) and office and research roles (technical office positions). Based on information from job sites including Saramin and accounts from multiple industry sources, a four-year university graduate who joins SK hynix as a technical office employee earns an annual salary in the 65 million to 70 million won range. Those who graduate from high school or a junior college and join in a field position appear to earn around 60 million won annually. The base salary at SK hynix is one-twentieth of the annual salary.
SK hynix operates two performance bonus systems. The profit sharing (PS) bonus allocates 10% of annual operating profit to employees without a cap. PS pays out 80% at the start of the following year, with the remaining amount split into 10% portions over two years. In addition, the company operates a productivity incentive (PI) that pays up to 300% of base salary per year (150% twice) in the first and second halves.
In Feb., SK hynix paid 2,964% of base salary as the 2025 PS. For an entry-level employee with a 65 million won salary, that translates to about 77 million won, or 80% of the total PS. Including PI and other items, the total income is estimated at around 150 million won.
The actual take-home pay that hits a bank account is calculated by subtracting taxes from total income. Under current tax law, taxes are levied on total income without distinguishing between base pay and bonuses. The take-home pay is the amount remaining after deducting earned income tax, local income tax, and the employee share of the four major social insurance contributions, which function as quasi-taxes, from total income. It is also necessary to apply various tax credits and reductions and subtract taxes already paid.
Excluding the effects of highly individualized items like tax credits, an SK hynix employee who earned a total income of 150 million won last year would have paid about 30 million won in earned income tax, by estimate. Local income tax would be around 3 million won. Including roughly 10 million won for the employee share of the four major insurances, the total tax burden comes to about 40 million to 43 million won, or roughly 30% of total income.
Starting in 2024, SK hynix unified all titles as TL (technical leader) without distinguishing between office and production staff. Internally, however, the company still differentiates by grade and years of service under the previous system. Technical office positions are divided into CL2 (staff), CL3 (assistant manager), CL4 (Director·Vice Administrator/Vice Commissioner/Vice Minister), and CL5 (Director General). Production roles also have a five-tier grade system (staff·technician·team lead·senior technician·principal technician) that determines annual salary.
According to the industry, SK hynix's typical annual pay by grade is ▲ assistant manager level 85 million won ▲ Director·Vice Administrator/Vice Commissioner/Vice Minister level 100 million won ▲ Director General level 130 million won. Based on this, if you estimate total income including last year's bonuses, assistant managers appear to have received around 200 million won and Director Generals around 300 million won. Among Director Generals with more years of service or recognized performance, some reportedly recorded 400 million to 500 million won in total income. Taxes levied on these amounts range from 35% to 45% of total income. For a Director General who earned 500 million won in total income, take-home pay would shrink to around 300 million won.
Tax accountant Jeong Won-jun at Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Services said, "Many ordinary office workers remain in the taxable base bracket of 88 million won or less, so it's easy to think of the 24% rate, but Korea's income tax is a progressive system where higher taxable bases face higher rates," adding, "When total pay jumps due to large bonuses, as with SK hynix employees, additional income falls into the 35% to 40% brackets, and far more money than people generally expect can be taken out as taxes."
As years of service accumulate, total income can vary widely even among employees of the same grade. An industry official said, "Annual performance reviews change the rate of pay raises, so even if the entry cohort is the same, the higher the grade and years of service, the bigger the difference in base salary," adding, "There are also pay gaps by job category, making it hard to know exact income levels. That said, minimums and record highs by years of service are generally set, so ranges can be estimated."
SK hynix employees were able to receive hundred-million-won bonuses because the company revised its system under a labor-management agreement in Sept. last year. While continuing to allocate 10% of operating profit as the bonus pool, the company scrapped the previous cap of "1,000% of base salary." It also decided to keep the system for 10 years. With the memory semiconductor boom last year, annual operating profit hit 4.72063 trillion won, rewriting the all-time high, and the bonuses also produced eye-popping figures.
According to the SK hynix earnings consensus compiled by financial data firm FnGuide, the company's annual operating profit is forecast at 241.7958 trillion won this year. Securities firms analyze that annual operating profit will grow to 324.1935 trillion won next year.
This means more than 20 trillion won this year and over 30 trillion won next year could be paid out as bonuses. As of the end of last year, SK hynix had 34,549 employees. With that, the average bonuses expected over the next two years are estimated at about 500 million to 800 million won, which appears to be driving increased public interest.
A university professor who requested anonymity said, "SK hynix went through a business crisis so severe in the early 2000s that it nearly went bankrupt," adding, "Those who now form the backbone of the company are receiving rewards after overcoming those hardships." The professor added, "The memory semiconductor market cycles between good and bad times, so no one can guarantee the current situation will continue," while noting, "It's positive that the SK hynix case could draw top talent into a semiconductor market that had suffered from labor shortages."