Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which award performance bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won, also received high marks for worker happiness, while the overall No. 1 went to Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS). SK hynix ranked in the top 3% among those surveyed corporations, but Samsung Electronics was in the top 60%, showing a large gap even within the same semiconductor industry.
On the 12th, the workplace social platform Blind released the "2026 Blind Index," which showed Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) ranked first in worker happiness with a score of 85. SAP Korea and Korea South-East Power (KOEN) followed with 82 points each, then Google Korea (80 points) and Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF) (79 points).
In particular, in the semiconductor sector, SK hynix posted a high happiness level that placed it in the top 3% among all corporations. In contrast, Samsung Electronics remained in the top 60%. Although both companies are paying large performance bonuses thanks to the recent AI semiconductor boom, there is a considerable gap in workplace satisfaction as felt by employees.
The Blind Index is an indicator that evaluates how happy employees felt at their companies over the year. It is calculated based on 15 indicators across work, relationships, and culture, jointly developed with the Korea Labor Institute (KLI). This survey was conducted with 34,372 Korea-based workers who completed employment verification from July to December last year.
This year, overall worker happiness clearly declined. While only about 100 corporations saw increases in happiness, more than 370 saw declines. The share of corporations scoring 50 points or higher in happiness also fell 14 percentage points, from 47% last year to 33% this year.
Gaps between corporations also stood out in the semiconductor industry. Thanks to the AI Semiconductor boom and the resulting high performance bonuses, SK hynix landed in the top 3% for happiness among all corporations, but Samsung Electronics was limited to the top 60%. Even within the same industry, there is a considerable difference in workplace satisfaction as perceived by employees.
A similar pattern appeared in the platform industry. Naver rose to the top 2% in happiness, while Kakao fell sharply from the top 46% last year to the top 93% this year.
By job category, professionals such as attorneys (54 points), medical workers (51 points), and physicians (50 points) scored high. Hardware engineers responsible for semiconductor and circuit design entered the upper tier for the first time this year with 49 points. In contrast, planners (36 points), career military personnel (37 points), and customer service (40 points) remained low.
Despite lower happiness, the share of workers who attempted to change jobs actually decreased. Typically, when job satisfaction declines, job-change attempts increase, but this year the share of workers who tried to change jobs within the past year fell from the previous year. This trend appeared broadly, not limited to any specific industry or job category.
Analyzing 218,000 posts from public channels by employees at high- and low-happiness corporations using AI, Blind found that in high-happiness corporations, questions premised on improving the organization were 1.8 times more common than questions premised on leaving it.