While those who work for industrial giants such as Samsung and LG expect solid rewards for their stellar performances, there will be no bonus party for the financial sector, which had their worst year in 2012.
The financial brothers of Samsung ― Samsung Life, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Samsung Card ― however, are an exception.
Banks including Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, Hana and NH Nonghyup will offer zero or less than half of last year’s performance-based bonuses this year.
The banks’ combined net profit hit its highest ever at 16 trillion won in 2011, but was chopped by half last year.
Due to slow business, there will be no performance-based bonuses for Nonghyup employees.
Woori, Shinhan, Kookmin, Hana and Korea Exchange, which doled out huge bonuses a year ago, don’t know if there will be any this time.
“Across the entire banking sector, it is not really a time to talk about bonuses,” a Kookmin Bank official said.
The situation is no better at credit card firms and insurers as their profits more than halved compared to 2011 and some even went into the red.
Samsung Life and Samsung Fire & Marine, however, are set to give out around 25 percent and slightly less than 40 percent of annual pay as bonuses, respectively, albeit less than last year.
Manager-level staff at the nation’s No. 1 nonlife insurer is expected to take home at least 20 million won, and the general manager-level about double the amount this time.
Samsung Card employees are set to get about 10 percent of annual pay as PS, or Samsung’s “profit sharing” bonus.
Bonuses at chaebol manufacturers vary among different business divisions and individuals. Non-executive staff at Samsung Electronics are anticipated to receive up to 30 million won in PS on Thursday as the world’s top smartphone maker posted record earnings last year.
If its net profit exceeds the target set a year earlier, Samsung offers within 20 percent of the excess profit as PS of up to half the employees’ annual salaries.
The entire mobile business division, which accounted for two-thirds of Samsung Electronics’ operating profit last year, will take home bonuses worth half of their annual pay.
The company’s consumer electronics, network and IT units as well as Samsung Group’s construction and shipbuilding arms, on the other hand, do not expect much in PS.
Workers at LG Electronics are likely to collect up to 250 percent of their base pay as bonuses, their first performance-based rewards in three years, in addition to New Year’s bounties.
By Kim So-hyun (
sophie@heraldcorp.com)
