Labor and management at SK Hynix have drawn up a tentative agreement for this year's wage and collective bargaining.

The tentative agreement reportedly includes a 6.3% wage increase, along with a plan to pay 40% of the Profit-Sharing (PS) performance bonus in cash and the remaining 60% in company stock.

The SK Hynix labor union held an emergency meeting of temporary delegates this afternoon and explained the 2026 tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement to its members.

Previously, SK Hynix labor and management agreed to abolish the cap on PS, which is funded by 10% of the previous year's operating profit, and maintain this system for 10 years.

Under that previous agreement, 80% of the PS was to be paid in cash for the current year, while the remaining 20% was to be deferred and paid in 10% installments over two years.

However, the latest negotiations modified the existing performance bonus payment system.

Under the new structure, 40% of the PS is paid in cash in the current year, and the remaining 60% is paid in company stock.

Of the stock issued, 40% can be sold in the current year, while 20% is paid on a deferred basis.

If SK Hynix achieves an annual operating profit of 250 trillion won this year as projected by securities analysts, the PS funding pool would reach 25 trillion won, which amounts to 10% of operating profit.

Based on a simple calculation dividing this by approximately 35,000 total employees and executives, the average PS per person would be around 700 million won (before taxes).

Actual payouts will vary depending on job grade and individual performance evaluations.

Applying this to the revised performance bonus system, based on the average payout per person, employees would receive about 280 million won in cash and approximately 420 million won in company stock.

The tentative agreement also reportedly includes a 6.3% wage increase rate and an increase in internal welfare points.

The union plans to soon hold a delegate vote to finalize the agreement.

However, because the actual payment method has changed just one year after labor and management agreed to maintain the performance bonus system for 10 years, and since total compensation could fluctuate depending on share price changes, resistance among members is expected to continue for the time being.

(Photo: Yonhap News)