Samsung Electronics Employee Earning 100 Million Won a Year Could Pay 250 Million Won in Income Tax on a 600 Million Won Bonus

 
[Financial News] After Samsung Electronics management and labor reached a tentative wage agreement following protracted negotiations, employees in the semiconductor division (DS) who receive 600 million won in performance pay, based on an annual salary of 100 million won before tax, are expected to pay about 250 million won in earned income tax this year.
According to Yonhap News Agency on the 21st, a simulation by the National Tax Service (NTS) showed that the final tax liability for Employee A, a married Samsung Electronics worker earning 100 million won a year and living in a three-member household with a spouse and one child age 8 or older, would be 12.74 million won, excluding local taxes. The figure was calculated by applying a 24% tax rate to the 50 million won to 88 million won bracket, after deductions such as earned income deductions and basic family deductions, and then reflecting tax credits.
Under the simplified withholding tax table for earned income, A has 10.08 million won withheld from monthly pay. The remaining 2.66 million won would have to be paid separately during year-end tax settlement. In other words, the actual amount received after taxes would be 87.26 million won.
However, if A's performance bonus is set at 600 million won under the labor-management agreement, the earned income tax would surge to 247.19 million won.
That is because if total compensation rises from 100 million won to 700 million won, the earned income deduction is capped at 20 million won, while the tax rate nearly doubles to 42% for the 500 million won to 1 billion won bracket.
As a result, the amount withheld from A's pay would be about 240 million won, meaning the withholding tax would exceed the base salary itself.
However, since the special management performance bonus is paid in company stock, Samsung is expected to provide shares worth the amount remaining after withholding tax.
At year-end settlement, A would have to pay the remaining 7.19 million won separately.
In the end, total pre-tax compensation increases sevenfold, while earned income tax rises 19.4 times.
One-third of the shares granted can be sold immediately, while the remaining two-thirds are subject to sales restrictions for one year and two years, respectively.
If all shares are held and the stock price does not change, the actual take-home value would be about 452.81 million won. However, the total amount could vary depending on Samsung Electronics' share price movements.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics management and labor signed a tentative agreement on the 2026 wage negotiations on the 20th. The agreement will be finalized through a union vote, and the general strike that had been scheduled to begin on the 21st has been put on hold until further notice.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter