SK Hynix CEO Kawk No-jeong (곽노정) received 26.095 billion won in the first half of 2026 alone. Over the same period, Samsung Electronics CEO Jeon Young-hyun (전영현) received 2.393 billion won. Both companies posted record half-year results, but the amounts taken home by individual executives differed by a factor of 10.9.

According to the companies’ semiannual reports disclosed on Aug. 14, SK Hynix’s total compensation for all directors and auditors was 33.561 billion won, averaging 4.195 billion won per person. Samsung Electronics reported 13.067 billion won, averaging 1.375 billion won per person. The gap widens when looking only at registered directors. SK Hynix recorded 16.45 billion won and Samsung Electronics 3.142 billion won, a 5.2-fold difference.

Different accounting standards limit a direct comparison, but the structure shows Samsung Electronics paying less in executive compensation despite posting higher profit. Samsung Electronics’ consolidated operating profit for the first half was 14.67 trillion won, the sum of 5.72 trillion won in the first quarter and 8.95 trillion won in the second quarter. SK Hynix’s separate operating profit for the first half was 9.19 trillion won.

The difference stems from compensation structure. Of SK Hynix’s 33.561 billion won in total compensation for directors and auditors, 26.622 billion won was stock-based compensation, accounting for 79.3 percent. The company explained that 26.2 billion won of that total included long-term performance stock rewards approved separately by quantity at a shareholders’ meeting and the cash-converted value from exercising stock options.

Of the 26.095 billion won Kawk received, salary was 1.25 billion won. The remainder included 4.379 billion won gained by exercising 5,269 stock options granted in March 2021 at an exercise price of 138,980 won, 16.843 billion won from settling SARs based on total shareholder return (TSR) for registered executives granted in 2022, and 537 million won from settling performance share units (PSU) granted in 2023. SK Hynix shares were at 970,000 won at the time of the exercise.

The timing of exercises, which changed the amounts, also played a role. Choi Jun-gi (최준기), who is in charge of P&T manufacturing technology, received 13.546 billion won, exceeding President Ahn Hyun (안현) at 11.437 billion won and President Cha Sun-yong (차선용) at 10.94 billion won. A non-registered executive received more than the group of presidents. The result came from exercising 4,610 shares granted in 2022 at the June 1 closing price of 2,363,000 won, realizing 10.319 billion won. The per-share realized profit gap between those who exercised in March and those who exercised in June widened by a factor of 2.4.

The method of managing compensation caps also differed. At a shareholders’ meeting on March 25, SK Hynix received approval for a cash cap of 15.0 billion won and, separately, approval for 30,000 treasury shares for long-term performance stock compensation. The company said any PSU amount exceeding the cap in terms of quantity will be distributed in parts within the cap range in the future.

Samsung Electronics does not have this item. In its semiannual report, the company said it had no unexercised stock options granted as of the end of the first half of 2026 to 1,100 directors, auditors and executive officers. Samsung Electronics received approval for a director compensation cap of 45.0 billion won at a shareholders’ meeting on March 18 and executed 29.0 percent of it through the first half. Samsung Electronics’ stock-based compensation payment of 8.576 billion won was entirely the amount paid in treasury shares for performance incentive (OPI) and long-term performance incentive (LTI).

Samsung Electronics employees to receive 1.2 trillion won in stock compensation, with payment date in October 2028

That does not mean Samsung Electronics does not offer stock price-linked compensation. In October 2025, Samsung Electronics committed PSU worth 35,292,600 common shares for all 128,322 employees. Applying the June 30 closing price of 334,000 won puts the 규모 at 1.18 trillion won. Payment will be made over three years starting in October 2028, and after three years the decision on whether to pay and the number of shares will be determined by the stock price increase rate.

The scale reverses when it comes down to employee level. In January 2026, Samsung Electronics issued 6,596,331 common shares to 51,647 employees as 2025 OPI stock compensation. In February 2026, SK Hynix granted 410,807 stock grants to 12,064 employees. SK Hynix’s top-end compensation reflects grants made in 2020 to 2022 that coincided with a period of surging share prices.

By total shareholder return (TSR), Samsung Electronics is at 179 percent and SK Hynix at 292 percent. The June 30 closing prices were 334,000 won and 2.65 million won, respectively. Compared with end-2024, Samsung Electronics rose 6.3 times and SK Hynix rose 15.2 times. In the same upcycle, SK Hynix executives realized gains, while Samsung Electronics employees’ share was pushed back to 2028.