SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) — According to data released on Friday, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin was the most highly compensated business leader in South Korea in the first half of 2023, earning 11.2 billion won (US$8.4 million) from six of the conglomerate’s affiliates. This figure was slightly higher than his 10.2 billion won salary from the same period in the previous year. Of the total, 4.53 billion won came from Lotte Corp., the group’s primary unit.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won was the second-highest paid exec, taking home 3 billion won, including 1.25 billion won from SK hynix Inc. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung earned 3.25 billion won, the same amount as in the first half of 2022. LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo’s paychecks totaled 5.9 billion won, a decrease from the 7.1 billion won he made in the first half of the previous year. GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo’s salary was 4 billion won, 1.31 billion won less than the year before.
Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae was the biggest earner among the group, with 5.5 billion won, a threefold increase from 1.7 billion won in the first half of 2022. He received 2.6 billion won from the group’s key affiliate, Korean Air Lines Co. Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn earned 5.4 billion won, while Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has not been paid since 2017.