“At Least 3 Billion Won in Bonuses”: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.’s ‘Memory Business Couple’ ... “Feels Like an Escape from the Ranks of Ordinary People”

[Financial News] A post by an employee saying that after joining Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. they had been able to build up assets worth several billion won has been made public. “I only studied enough, joined a decent company, and just did my job... It’s amazing that I’ve ended up with several billion won to my name,” the employee said.
Amid reports of plans to pay special performance bonuses to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.’s semiconductor (DS) division, the story of an employee couple who met and married at the company is drawing attention. They expect the performance bonuses they will receive to total at least 3 billion won.
On the 8th, A, whose status as an employee of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. had been verified, shared details of their finances on Blind, an anonymous workplace community, under the title “The bonus figures really make it feel like an escape from the ranks of ordinary people.”
A said he is a man in his early 30s and that his wife also works in Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.’s Memory Business. He said, “I’m a man in my early 30s whose greatest achievement in life is getting into this company. I met my wife here, and we became a Memory Business couple.”
He said the value of the home the couple bought while working together had also risen substantially. A said, “The two of us earned money for about five years and bought a house for 800 million won. It’s now worth as much as 1.2 billion won,” adding, “We’re preparing to move up to a home in the upper 1-billion-won range using a company loan.”
He estimated that the couple’s combined performance bonuses going forward would amount to at least 3 billion won. “I calculated the bonuses the two of us will receive, and they came to at least 3 billion won,” A said. “If things go as expected, I think I might even be able to leave the company within five years.”
On the afternoon of the 7th, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. notified employees of the detailed payment plan for the DS division’s special management performance bonuses. Payment is scheduled for around the end of March, immediately after approval at next year’s annual general meeting of shareholders. The tax year will be next year, and the bonuses are set to be paid after withholding at the top income tax rate of 45%. Including local income tax, the rate is 49.5%.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.’s operating profit for the third quarter of this year exceeded 100 trillion won. Accordingly, performance bonuses for employees in the semiconductor division are also expected to increase. For an employee in the Memory Business whose annual salary is in the low 80-million-won range, next year’s bonus, based on this year’s results, is estimated at about 750 million won before tax.

[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter