91% of Top Executives in 4 Major Groups with Over 1 Billion Won in Stock Belong to Samsung and SK Hynix

Out of nearly 400 non-owner executives across listed affiliates of South Korea's four major conglomerates who hold over 1 billion won in stock, more than 90% were found to belong to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, data showed.

The number of executives in the "1 billion won club" at both companies increased by over 40% compared to May when stock prices fell, which is interpreted as a major impact from stock compensation schemes.

On August 31, corporate research firm CXO Institute released the results of a survey on the "status of non-owner executives' stock wealth of 1 billion won or more," covering 62 listed affiliates of Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG.

The evaluation was based on common stocks held by executives listed in this year's semi-annual reports, calculated using the closing prices on August 24.

The survey showed that 398 non-owner executives across the listed affiliates of the four major groups held stock worth over 1 billion won, with their total stock wealth amounting to 1.0507 trillion won.

By group, the Samsung Group accounted for 269 executives, or 67.6% of the total.

The SK Group followed with 122 executives (30.7%), bringing the combined total of the two groups to 98.2%.

In contrast, the Hyundai Motor Group had only 4 executives (1%), and the LG Group had 3 executives (0.8%).

This gap is analyzed to stem from differences in stock compensation policies among the groups.

In particular, the increase in the number of shares held by executives was largely driven by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix paying part of their performance bonuses in company shares.

In fact, among the executives in the 1 billion won stock club, Samsung Electronics had the most with 256 executives (64.3%), followed by SK Hynix with 107 executives (26.9%).

Combined, the two companies accounted for 363 executives, or 91.2% of the total.

Even during the recent three-month period when stock prices dropped, the number of executives in the 1 billion won stock club at both companies increased, indicating that a rise in the number of shares held, rather than a rise in stock prices, boosted the executives' stock wealth.

The number of Samsung Electronics executives in the 1 billion won club rose by 50.6% from 170 on May 13 this year to 256 on August 24, while SK Hynix saw an increase of 21.6% from 88 to 107.

Combined, the two companies recorded a 40.7% increase.

During the same period, stock prices fell by 9.5% for Samsung Electronics and 15.4% for SK Hynix.

There were 12 non-owner executives whose stock value exceeded 10 billion won.

By group, Samsung had the most with 6, followed by SK with 5 and Hyundai Motor with 1.

LG did not produce a single executive on this list.

Roh Tae-moon, President of Samsung Electronics, took the top spot.

President Roh holds 124,280 shares of Samsung Electronics.

Based on the closing price of 257,000 won on August 24, his stock value is estimated at around 31.9939 billion won.

He is the only non-owner executive among the four major groups to exceed 30 billion won.

He was followed by SK Hynix President Kwak Noh-jung (23.9153 billion won), SK Square Chief Investment Officer Song Jae-seung (18.3113 billion won), Samsung Electronics President Park Hak-kyu (18.0768 billion won), and Hyundai AutoEver executive Seo Dong-kwon (16.5473 billion won).

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.