As SK hynix paid employees an exceptional performance bonus to maximize memory semiconductor revenue, public interest in the move is rising. With an unprecedented super cycle, SK hynix employees are expected to earn large incomes this year and next, following last year's "hundred-million-won bonus."
However, some analysis suggests the net amount received after taxes may be smaller than the public generally assumes. Because Korea has adopted a progressive tax system, the higher the total income (the sum of annual salary and bonuses), the more tax is imposed. While SK hynix employees' income levels are higher than those of typical workers, observers note 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 SK hynix employees, ChosunBiz calculated that new hires appeared to have received around 110 million won in net pay last year. The total income of a new SK hynix hire last year was about 150 million won, of which an estimated 30% was paid in taxes.
SK hynix's pay system is broadly divided into production and facilities positions (full-time operations staff) and office and research positions (technical office staff). According to information from job sites including Saramin and comments from multiple industry sources, a graduate of a four-year university who joins SK hynix as technical office staff receives an annual salary of 65 million to 70 million won. Those who graduate from high school or a junior college and join as operations staff appear to receive around 60 million won. The base salary at SK hynix is one-twentieth of the annual salary.
SK hynix operates two performance-based bonus programs. The profit sharing (PS) program allocates 10% of annual operating profit as a pool and pays performance bonuses to employees with no cap. PS pays 80% early the following year, and the remaining amount is split into 10% portions and paid over two years. In addition, it operates a productivity incentive (PI) that pays up to 300% of base salary per year (150% twice), divided into the first and second half.
In Feb., SK hynix paid 2,964% of base salary as the 2025 PS. For an employee with a 65 million won annual salary, that translates to about 77 million won, or 80% of the total PS, received upfront. Including PI and other items, the total income is estimated at around 150 million won.
The net amount that actually lands in the payroll account is the total income minus taxes. Under current tax law, taxes are imposed on total income without distinguishing between base salary and bonuses. The net pay is what remains after deducting earned income tax, local income tax, and the employee's 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 exemptions and subtract taxes already paid.
Excluding the effects of tax credits and other items that vary widely by individual, an SK hynix employee who earned a total income of 150 million won last year is estimated to have paid about 30 million won in earned income tax. Local income tax is around 3 million won. Including roughly 10 million won for the employee's share of the four major insurances, the tax burden alone comes to about 40 million to 43 million won, or roughly 30% of total income.
Since 2024, SK hynix has unified job titles as TL (technical leader) across office and production roles. Internally, however, it still distinguishes rank and years of service under the existing system. Technical office staff are divided into CL2 (staff), CL3 (assistant manager), CL4 (Director/Vice Administrator/Vice Commissioner/Vice Minister), and CL5 (Director General). Production staff salaries are set according to a five-tier rank system (staff, engineer, team lead, senior engineer, principal engineer).
According to the industry, SK hynix's annual salaries by rank are generally known to be ▲ 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 performance bonuses, assistant managers appear to have received around 200 million won, and Director General level around 300 million won. Some Director General-level employees with more years of service or recognized performance were said to have recorded total income of 400 million to 500 million won. Taxes levied on these amounts are about 35% to 45% of total income. For a Director General-level employee who received 500 million won in total income, the net pay would shrink to about 300 million won.
Tax accountant Jeong Won-jun at Hanwha Life Insurance Financial Services said, "Many typical office workers remain in the tax base bracket at or below 88 million won, so it is easy to recall a 24% rate, but domestic income tax is a progressive structure where higher tax bases face higher rates," adding, "When total pay jumps due to large bonuses, as with SK hynix employees, additional income falls into the 35%–40% brackets, and a much larger amount than generally expected can be taken out as taxes."
As years of service accumulate, there are large differences in total income even among employees of the same rank. An industry official said, "Annual performance reviews lead to different raise rates, so the higher the rank and seniority, the bigger the gap in base pay even for those who joined at the same time," adding, "There are also pay differences by job category, so it is hard to know the exact income level. Still, minimums and maximums by year of service are relatively defined, so it is possible to estimate a range."
SK hynix employees were able to receive hundred-million-won bonuses because the system was revised under a labor-management agreement in Sept. last year. While using 10% of operating profit as the performance bonus pool, the previous cap of "1,000% of base salary" was abolished. The company also agreed to maintain this system for 10 years. With the memory semiconductor boom last year, annual operating profit hit 4.72063 trillion won, setting a new all-time high, and the performance bonuses also produced extraordinary figures.
According to the SK hynix earnings consensus compiled by FnGuide, the company's annual operating profit this year is projected at 241.7958 trillion won. Securities firms analyze that annual operating profit will grow to 324.1935 trillion won next year.
This suggests that more than 20 trillion won this year and over 30 trillion won next year could be paid out as performance bonuses. As of the end of last year, SK hynix had 34,549 employees. With that, as the average performance bonus over the next two years is expected to be around 500 million to 800 million won, public interest appears to be rising.
A university professor who requested anonymity said, "SK hynix went through a difficult business period, to the point of facing bankruptcy in the early 2000s," adding, "The personnel who now form the backbone of the company are receiving rewards after overcoming those hardships." The professor continued, "The memory semiconductor market goes through cycles, so no one can guarantee the current situation will continue," but added, "It is positive that the SK hynix case has increased the likelihood of attracting top talent to a semiconductor market that had been suffering from labor shortages."