This company says it will pay bonuses entirely in stock instead of cash... What was the vote result?

[Financial News] Samsung SDS is pushing to overhaul its compensation system by scrapping its existing cash bonuses entirely and replacing them with stock-based payouts.
According to Yonhap News Agency and others on the 26th, Samsung SDS has recently been conducting a vote among all employees on a reform plan that would abolish the current cash incentive system and pay performance bonuses once a year in the form of treasury shares.
The vote is reportedly set to close on the 29th of this month. It is seen as an extension of the debate over compensation reform that was triggered by the Supreme Court of Korea's January ruling this year, which recognized performance bonuses at Samsung Electronics as wages.
The background to the overhaul was the Supreme Court of Korea's ruling in January, which said Samsung Electronics' target incentive pay, or PI, should be recognized as wages for work and included in severance pay calculations in a lawsuit filed by former Samsung Electronics employees seeking retirement benefits.
Samsung SDS's move to convert cash incentives into stock-based bonuses is also interpreted as an effort to block such legal risks. However, industry observers noted that the reform plan could become controversial because much of the bonus formula is tied to external indicators unrelated to employee effort.
In addition to changes in pretax operating profit, the plan reportedly factors in the company's share price gains and the KOSPI IT Services Industry index. In that case, fluctuations in stock prices or the industry index could affect bonus amounts regardless of individual performance.
Still, the company is said to have responded to a flood of inquiries on its internal employee portal by saying that the plan will not be forced through without the consent of more than 50% of employees.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter