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SK hynix employees are poised to receive an unprecedented average performance bonus of more than 600 million won per person early next year. The chipmaker posted a record-high operating profit of 37.6103 trillion won in the first quarter, in line with the consensus estimate from securities firms, sending profit-linked bonuses sharply higher.
According to financial data provider FnGuide on the 23rd, SK hynix's operating profit this year is projected to reach 230.0885 trillion won, 4.9 times last year's figure of 47.2063 trillion won. Accordingly, Profit Sharing (PS) bonuses, funded by 10% of operating profit, are expected to swell to a combined 23 trillion won.
By simple calculation, the bonuses to be paid early next year to SK hynix's 34,549 employees would average 670 million won per person. That is more than four times last year's bonus (an average of 140 million won per person), which was paid out as a "record high" earlier this year.
Notably, SK hynix's operating profit forecast for next year surpasses 300 trillion won, meaning 2027 bonuses could rise to an average of more than 800 million won per person — a gap that would set SK hynix employees apart not only from workers at other SK Group affiliates but also from those at other major conglomerates. Macquarie Securities has projected SK hynix's operating profit for next year at up to 447 trillion won, estimating that the average bonus per person could exceed 1.2 billion won.
Anticipation of the "lottery-style" bonuses has drawn a surge of applicants to SK hynix's recent new-hire recruitment. At information sessions held last month at 11 major regional hub universities ahead of this year's first-half new-hire recruitment, about 400 people turned up — roughly double the number who had pre-registered.
Production-line positions, whose applications closed on the 22nd, are also expected to offer compensation exceeding 100 million won once bonuses are included, prompting a flood of inquiries even from four-year university graduates who are not eligible to apply.
The era of 20 trillion won bonuses! SK hynix rakes in cash — the last entry window left for retail investors