Samsung Electronics labor union estimates that bonus payments for employees in the company's semiconductor division could reach up to 750 million won next year.

This is a pre-tax figure that combines existing performance bonuses, based on an employee in the Memory Business Division with an annual salary in the low 80-million-won range.

The Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group Inter-Company Union calculated the expected performance bonuses by business unit under the assumption that Samsung Electronics' annual operating profit this year will reach about 370 trillion won, matching securities market forecasts.

As a result, the estimated bonuses are about 750 million won for the Memory Business Division, about 530 million won for the common organization, and about 240 million won for the System LSI and Foundry business divisions.

This means that even within the same semiconductor division, the gap in performance bonuses between the memory and non-memory business units widens to more than 500 million won.

The reason for these estimates reaching hundreds of millions of won is due to the "special management performance bonus" newly established through a labor-management agreement last May.

While the existing Overall Performance Incentive (OPI) has a cap of 50 percent of an individual's annual salary, the new special management performance bonus has no separate payment cap.

The funding source is 10.5 percent of the operating profit of the semiconductor division.

Of this, 40 percent is distributed evenly across the entire semiconductor division, while the remaining 60 percent is differentially paid based on the performance of each business unit, such as Memory, System LSI, and Foundry.

The structure is designed so that business units with better performance receive a larger share of the performance bonus.

However, the special management performance bonus is only paid if the semiconductor division's annual operating profit reaches 200 trillion won or more.

The amounts estimated by the union will not be received in cash as calculated.

Unlike the existing OPI, the special management performance bonus will be paid in Samsung Electronics shares after deducting taxes and insurance premiums.

Only one-third of the received shares can be sold immediately, while another third can be sold after one year, and the remaining third will have its selling restrictions lifted only after two years.

Therefore, the amount that can actually be converted into cash may vary depending not only on taxes but also on future stock prices.

Samsung Electronics notified executives and employees yesterday (October 7) of the calculation method and payment schedule for the special management performance bonus.

The recipients will be those employed as of the end of this year, including employees on parental, pregnancy, and military enlistment leave.

The payment rates for each business unit will be announced in early February next year, and payments are scheduled to be made between late March and early April after going through general shareholders' meeting and board of directors procedures.

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Lee Dain | Graphics by Yang Hyemin | Produced by SBS Digital News