Kim Seung-youn of Hanwha Tops Annual Salary List at 24.84 Billion Won... Ryu Jin of Poongsan Records Highest Total with Retirement Pay at 46.65 Billion Won

Ranking Just Behind CJ and Hyundai Motor Group
Performance Bonuses and RSUs Widen Executive Pay Gaps

Among the heads of major domestic conglomerates last year, Kim Seung-youn, Chairman of Hanwha Group, received the highest annual salary, excluding retirement benefits.

On March 18, Yonhap News reported, citing business reports disclosed by major listed companies for the 2025 fiscal year, that Chairman Kim received a total of 24.84 billion won from five affiliates—Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Systems, Hanwha Solutions, Hanwha Corporation, and Hanwha Vision—making him the highest-paid head of a conglomerate in South Korea. This marks a significant increase from approximately 14 billion won the previous year, reflecting the effect of newly receiving compensation from Hanwha Vision.

Seungyun Kim, Chairman of Hanwha Group, is attending the Eagles baseball game and greeting fans. Provided by Hanwha

The second-highest annual salary went to Lee Jay-hyun, Chairman of CJ Group, who received a total of 17.7 billion won from CJ Corporation and CJ CheilJedang. He was followed by Euisun Chung, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, who received approximately 17.5 billion won. Chairman Chung's ranking rose as he additionally received 5.4 billion won from Kia, in addition to his compensation from Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis. Next on the list were Cho Hyun-joon, Chairman of Hyosung Group, with approximately 15.7 billion won, and Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, with about 14.99 billion won. The total amount for Chairman Shin may increase if compensation from certain affiliates is disclosed later on.

In addition, Walter Cho, Chairman of Hanjin Group, received approximately 14.57 billion won, showing an increase from the previous year. Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, and Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group, received 8.25 billion won and 7.127 billion won, respectively. Although Doosan Group has not yet disclosed its business report, Chairman Park Jeong-won received 7.3 billion won in compensation for the half-year period, along with approximately 24,000 shares of RSUs (restricted stock units). With rising stock prices, the value of these shares is estimated at around 29.2 billion won. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee has continued to work without pay since 2017.

In early January, Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee (from the left), Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwangmo were seen conversing on the 5th at the Beijing Jiaoda University during the Korea-China Business Forum attended by President Lee Jae-myung. Photo by Yonhap News

Among professional managers, Han Seong-sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, received a total of 10.343 billion won, including her severance pay from Naver and profits from exercising stock options. This amount exceeds the compensation of Naver founder Lee Hae-jin (about 2.4 billion won). In addition, Park Jung-ho, former Vice Chairman of SK hynix, received approximately 9.61 billion won due to the settlement of long-term performance incentives, while Jose Munoz, CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, received 9.729 billion won, surpassing the compensation of Chairman Euisun Chung. Kim Chang-han, CEO of Krafton, also received 8.04 billion won, continuing the high salary trend in the gaming industry.

Meanwhile, when including retirement benefits, Ryu Jin, Chairman of Poongsan Group, recorded the highest overall amount at 46.645 billion won. Of this, approximately 38.8 billion won was retirement pay following his resignation as CEO of Poongsan Holdings. The business community analyzes that as compensation structures diversify—through performance bonuses, stock options, and RSUs—the pay gap among major shareholders and executives is also widening.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.