Average Pay Per Employee at Samsung Electronics Reaches 158 Million Won, Highest in Korea

According to Financial News, the average annual salary of Samsung Electronics employees reached 158 million won last year, the highest level on record.
The 2025 Business Report of Samsung Electronics, released on the 10th, shows that the company’s average annual pay per employee last year was 158 million won. This represents an increase of 28 million won, or 21.5%, from the previous year’s average compensation of 130 million won. The rise is attributed to higher compensation following a recovery in the semiconductor business and earnings, fueled by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom.
The report also disclosed the scale of its performance-based stock (PSU) program. Samsung Electronics introduced the PSU scheme in October last year to strengthen responsible management by employees and executives for mid- to long-term business performance. The company agreed to grant about 35.29 million shares in total, or an average of 275 shares per person, to roughly 130,000 employees. Whether the PSUs are actually paid out, and in what quantity, will be determined by the share price increase through October 2028.
As of the end of last year, Samsung Electronics had 128,881 employees in Korea, excluding registered board members. This was a slight decrease from 128,282 a year earlier, but the company still remains the largest private-sector employer in the country. The average length of service rose from 13.0 years in the previous year to 13.7 years.
In line with its plan to hire 60,000 new employees over five years, Samsung Electronics intends to recruit a large number of new staff through regular open hiring in both the first and second half of this year.
ehcho@fnnews.com Reporter Cho Eun-hyo Reporter