{
  "id": 340753,
  "title": "Profit-linked bonuses at Samsung, SK unlikely to spread across Korean biz",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/09/profit-linked-bonuses-at-samsung-sk-unlikely-to-spread-across-korean",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-09T03:47:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/companies/20260809/profit-linked-bonuses-at-samsung-sk-unlikely-to-spread-across-korean-biz"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The lucrative profit-based bonuses granted to employees at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are unlikely to become commonplace across Korean businesses, with the government contemplating amendments to regulations that would require shareholder approval for such incentive plans. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, speaking at a press forum on Thursday, expressed his opposition to directly tying employee incentives to a company's operating profit, and highlighted ongoing discussions with the government to amend the Commercial Act and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act. These amendments would necessitate shareholder approval before companies could pay performance bonuses. The push for this change stems from labor unions at major corporations advocating for the allocation of a portion of operating profit towards performance bonuses. Last year, SK hynix entered into an agreement with its labor union, directing 10 percent of its operating profit towards performance bonuses to share the substantial profits earned from its memory chip business. In May, Samsung Electronics followed suit, agreeing to allocate 10.5 percent of its operating profit to performance bonuses.",
  "summary": "The Korea Times reports that the hefty profit-based performance bonuses at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are unlikely to become a new norm among Korean businesses. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan has expressed opposition to linking employee incentives directly to a company’s operating profit, stating that the government is discussing revisions to the Commercial Act and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act to require shareholder approval before paying such bonuses. This comes as labor unions at large companies demand that a portion of operating profit be used to fund performance bonuses, with SK hynix already allocating 10 percent of operating profit for bonuses in response to its memory chip business's profits.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Profit-linked bonuses at Samsung, SK unlikely to spread across Korean biz",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/09/profit-linked-bonuses-at-samsung-sk-unlikely-to-spread-across-korean-341541",
        "published": "2026-08-09T04:02:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}