[비즈한국] After graduating from Yonsei University's College of Engineering, Person A applied to both Samsung Electronics005930 and SK Hynix00660, but was only accepted by Hynix in 2021. To get into Samsung Electronics, A worked at Hynix while attending a cram school on the side. The following year, they succeeded in passing Samsung Electronics' open recruitment for new hires. Although they spent hundreds of thousands of won per month on tuition to join their desired company, Samsung, they now harbor deep regrets.
This is because Hynix's massive performance bonuses have created a widening salary gap compared to their former colleagues. A and their fellow recruits at Samsung Electronics now openly tell each other, "If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have gone to Hynix." A even hinted, "Quite a few people say they would move to Hynix if possible," adding, "It sounds like a joke, but if there were actually an offer to move, quite a few would likely take it."
SK Hynix: The 'Most Desired Company' for MZ Generation
With forecasts suggesting the semiconductor supercycle could continue for more than 2-3 years, some analysts suggest that SK Hynix's performance bonus per employee could reach nearly 1.3 billion won next year. Global investment bank (IB) Macquarie Securities projected SK Hynix's operating profit for next year at 447 trillion won, estimating the Profit Sharing (PS) pool at 44.7 trillion won. In this case, the average performance bonus per SK Hynix employee would reach 1.29 billion won.
While some analysts argue that an operating profit exceeding 400 trillion won is impossible because SK Hynix's production capacity cannot surge in the short term, there is already speculation in the industry that "a performance bonus of at least 400-500 million won is likely possible." Calculating based on the 250 trillion won operating profit projected by domestic securities firms, employees could receive bonuses reaching 700 million won per person.
This situation began during SK Hynix's labor-management negotiations last September. Through the agreement, the company decided to use 10% of its operating profit as the resource for its Profit Sharing (PS) program, effectively abolishing the payment cap of "1,000% of base salary." As a result, the company made headlines with a record-breaking bonus of 140 million won per person.
By building an image of "paying exactly what is earned," SK Hynix has firmly established itself as a top choice among MZ-generation workers. Career platform Saramin surveyed 2,304 adults on the "large companies they want to join," and SK Hynix surpassed Samsung Electronics, being chosen by 20% of respondents. Samsung Electronics, which had long held the top spot, fell to second place for the first time with 18.9%.
Hynix Leads, Samsung Follows?
In this atmosphere, Samsung Electronics employees are feeling a sense of relative deprivation. Critics point to a "closed organizational culture" rather than a "lack of talent" as the main issue. There is also significant dissatisfaction with Samsung's outdated performance bonus system. Samsung Electronics currently pays bonuses once a year, up to 50% of an individual's annual salary, capped at 20% of the excess profit when a business unit exceeds its annual goals. The labor union is demanding a revision to use "10% of operating profit" as the funding source, similar to Hynix, and the abolition of the cap.
Person A explained, "Even if Samsung Electronics has more employees and lower performance compared to SK Hynix, it is still achieving record-high results, so there is a crisis awareness that 'bonuses must be paid surely to retain talent.' If clear compensation in the form of a high salary isn't provided, wouldn't talented individuals choose Hynix?"
Researcher B, who has worked in Samsung Electronics' DS division for over 10 years, added, "The company's performance hinges on the decisions made by leadership regarding the future and how they deploy staff. The management's passive decisions regarding HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) development created the current gap between Hynix and Samsung. Young employees speaking out more actively to demand 'transparency in bonus funding' reflects these frustrations."
Industry analysts suggest that if the dominance in the HBM market translates into performance results and subsequently into bonus gaps, a cycle could form that directly influences recruitment preferences. There is speculation that a structure where candidates choose Hynix over Samsung when accepted to both could become the norm. Person A lamented, "If the difference in bonuses is hundreds of millions of won rather than a few million, who would want to join just because it's Samsung? When I graduated from college, 9 out of 10 would choose Samsung, but now, I think 9 out of 10 would choose Hynix."