Retail Sector's Top Earner Is Shin Dong-bin at 11.2 Billion Won... Kim Byounghoon APR CEO Leads in Growth Rate

Lee Jay-Hyun of CJ Group earns 9.3 billion won

Sung Rae-eun of Youngone Trading Group follows with 7.3 billion won

Kim Byounghoon of APR records a 50% jump year-on-year

The compensation reports for owners of major retail companies for the first half of this year have been released. The "salary king" of the retail sector was identified as Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, who received a total compensation of over 10 billion won from six affiliates, making him the highest recipient among major industry leaders. In contrast, the largest year-on-year increase in compensation was recorded by Kim Byounghoon, CEO of APR, with a raise of more than 50%. The differences in bonus levels, which are determined by each company's performance, and the structure in which some owners receive remuneration from multiple affiliates, are analyzed as the main reasons for the compensation gap among these owners.

According to the semi-annual reports disclosed on August 19 via the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, collected a total of 11,227 million won in the first half of this year from six affiliates: Lotte Corporation, Lotte Shopping, Hotel Lotte, Lotte Wellfood, Lotte Chemical, and Lotte Property & Development. This represents a 13.6% increase from 9,881 million won received in the first half of last year. By affiliate, he received 3,330 million won from Lotte Shopping and 3,257 million won from Lotte Corporation. He also earned 1,626 million won from Hotel Lotte, 1,151 million won from Lotte Wellfood, 1,087 million won from Lotte Chemical, and 776 million won from Lotte Property & Development. The sharpest increase was seen in the compensation from Lotte Shopping, which more than doubled from 1,661 million won in the first half of last year, driving the overall rise in pay.

Lee Jay-hyun, Chairman of CJ Group, followed with a total of 9,304 million won in the first half. He received 7,345 million won from CJ Corporation and 1,959 million won from CJ CheilJedang. Of the compensation from CJ Corporation, 2,551 million won constituted his salary and 4,994 million won was a bonus. After seeing a more than two-fold increase last year due to the reflection of long-term incentives, his compensation this year only increased by 1% compared to the first half of last year.

In the fashion sector, the compensation for Sung Rae-eun, Vice Chairman of Youngone Trading Group, stood out. Vice Chairman Sung received a total of 7,350 million won from Youngone Trading and Youngone Holdings, with 3,650 million won and 3,700 million won from each, respectively. Particularly notable was that he received a total bonus of 4,800 million won, with 2,400 million won from each company. This contributed to an 18.5% increase in compensation compared to the first half of last year.

Suh Kyung-bae, Chairman of Amorepacific Group, also saw his total compensation from Amorepacific and Amorepacific Group Holdings reach 5,213 million won, a 1.9% increase from 5,116 million won in the first half of last year.

Within Hyundai Department Store Group, Chairman Chung Ji-sun received a total of 2,573 million won from Hyundai Department Store and Hyundai GF Holdings, comprising 1,948 million won from Hyundai Department Store and 625 million won from Hyundai GF Holdings. Chairman Chung's compensation was paid entirely as salary, with no bonuses.

In the case of Shinsegae Group, Chairman Chung Yong-jin and Chairman Chung Yoo-kyung each received 2,205 million won, drawing attention. This represents a 9.1% increase from 2,021 million won in the first half of last year. Chairman Chung Yong-jin received 1,205 million won in salary and a 1,000 million won bonus from Emart, while Chairman Chung Yoo-kyung received an equivalent breakdown of 1,205 million won in salary and a 1,000 million won bonus from Shinsegae. Their mother, Lee Myung-hee, Chairwoman of Shinsegae Group, received 955 million won from Emart and 561 million won from Shinsegae, totaling 1,516 million won in the first half of the year. Compared to 1,515 million won in the first half of last year, this is effectively unchanged, just a 1 million won increase.

The growth of K-beauty has also been reflected in the compensation of its founders. Kim Byounghoon, CEO of APR, received a full salary of 1,500 million won in the first half of this year, up 50% from 1,000 million won in the first half of last year, marking the highest rate of increase among those surveyed. APR’s robust growth in both sales and operating profit in the first half is seen as a factor behind the higher pay for CEO Kim. Lee Boo-jin, President of Hotel Shilla, received a total of 799 million won in combined salary and bonuses, which is a 25.0% increase from 639 million won in the same period last year.

This year’s compensation results indicate that, beyond company performance, the overlap of holding multiple positions in affiliates and the manner in which bonuses are paid played a major role in the pay gap among owners. Chairman Shin Dong-bin was the only one to receive compensation from six affiliates, exceeding the 10 billion won mark, while Chairmen Chung Yong-jin and Chung Yoo-kyung each received compensation only from a single company. For Vice Chairman Sung Rae-eun, approximately 65% of his total compensation was from bonuses, while Chairman Chung Ji-sun’s pay consisted entirely of salary with no bonuses. This makes it difficult to directly compare total compensation with company size or management performance.

The margin of increase compared to last year also varied significantly. CEO Kim Byounghoon saw his compensation jump by 50%, the highest increase, while President Lee Boo-jin and Vice Chairman Sung Rae-eun saw increases of 25.0% and 18.5%, respectively. On the other hand, due to the high amount of long-term incentives paid last year, Chairman Lee Jay-hyun, Chairman Suh Kyung-bae, and Chairman Chung Ji-sun saw only 1–2% increases, while Chairwoman Lee Myung-hee’s compensation remained essentially flat. Even when discussing 'owner pay increases,' the context—whether it comes from regular salary hikes, performance-linked bonuses, or receipt of compensation from multiple affiliates—differs in each case.

An industry insider stated, "Recently, there has been a trend for owner families to emphasize responsible management and performance-based compensation. However, since each company has a different compensation structure, it is difficult to make simple comparisons based on total amounts alone. If an individual receives compensation from multiple affiliates or if the proportion of bonuses is high, the total may vary considerably."

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