April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo was the highest-paid executive last year, receiving 9.3 billion won (US$8.33 million) salary, industry data showed.

Chung received 5.34 billion won from Hyundai Motor and another 3.97 billion won from the group’s auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis, according to the 2016 annual reports filed by each companies. While his paycheck decreased from 9.8 billion won in 2015, his ranking jumped from the third place. 

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo

CJ Group co-Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik ranked the second, with 8.21 billion won in salary, up by 115 million won from the previous year.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin ranked third with a combined 7.75 billion won, an increase by 1.94 billion won despite the corruption scandal that shook the retail giant. Shin received 2.5 billion won from Lotte Chemical, 2.12 billion won from Lotte Shopping, 1.75 billion won from Lotte Confectionery and another 1.37 billion won from Hotel Lotte.

Huh Chang-soo, chairman of GS Group, received a total 7.43 billion won in income, which almost doubled from 3.79 billion won in 2015.

Kwon Oh-hyun, vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, received 6.69 billion won, falling from the No. 1 ranking to the fifth. His paycheck decreased significantly from 14.95 billion won last year, but was still the richest non-family CEO in Korea.

Korean Air Chairman and CEO Cho Yang-ho earned 6.64 billion won from its affiliates Korean Air, Hanjin Kal and Hanjin Transformation. He didn’t received any income from the bankrupt container liner Hanjin Shipping.

LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo received 5.82 billion won, followed by Yoon Boo-keun, Samsung Electronics CEO, with 5.03 billion won.

Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Seok-rae was paid 4.61 billion won, while Samsung Electronics CEO Shin Jong-kyun ranked 10th with 3.98 billion won.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s de facto head Lee Jae-yong received 1.14 billion won in salary from October to December last year. His salary was made public as he joined the board of directors at Samsung Electronics in October. His annual income is estimated to be around 5 billion won.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)