Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) employees received an average first-quarter compensation that rose more than 25 percent year-on-year to a record high, according to a new analysis. The increase reflects a sharp earnings improvement driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) chip boom.
According to the "Q1 2026 Samsung Electronics Employee Estimated Average Salary Analysis" released Wednesday by Korea CXO Institute, a corporate analysis firm, the average compensation for Samsung Electronics employees in the first quarter of this year is estimated at between 33.91 million won and 38.15 million won.
The institute calculated the first-quarter total salary based on the ratio between "salary expenses by nature" and "total employee salaries" disclosed in Samsung Electronics' previous first-quarter reports. Samsung Electronics' first-quarter salary expenses by nature stood at 5.6032 trillion won this year, which translates to total employee salaries of between 4.2584 trillion won and 4.7907 trillion won.
Applying the average employee count of 125,580 in the first quarter based on National Pension Service enrollment, the per-capita average first-quarter compensation comes to 33.91 million to 38.15 million won, the institute said.
On a monthly basis, this translates to between 11.3 million won and 12.7 million won. At the midpoint, first-quarter pay stood at approximately 36 million won, with monthly compensation around 12 million won. However, since this is a simple average across all employees, actual individual compensation may vary depending on job grade, tenure, business division and performance bonus eligibility.
Using the same methodology, average employee compensation in the first quarter of last year was estimated at between 27.07 million won and 30.46 million won. Based on this, this year's first-quarter average compensation rose 25.3 percent year-on-year.
Samsung Electronics' first-quarter average compensation declined for three consecutive years, falling from 30.6 million won in 2022 to 27.77 million won in 2023 and 25.86 million won in 2024. It then rose 11.6 percent to 28.85 million won in the first quarter of last year, with the increase widening further this year.
The sharp jump in average employee pay is attributed to Samsung Electronics' record-breaking first-quarter earnings on the back of the AI chip boom.
The total salary scale itself reached an all-time high in the first quarter. Samsung Electronics' first-quarter salary expenses by nature rose from 4.4547 trillion won last year to 5.6032 trillion won this year. It is the first time first-quarter salary expenses have exceeded 5 trillion won.
"Samsung Electronics is a company where performance bonuses have a greater impact than monthly salaries," said Oh Il-sun, head of Korea CXO Institute. "Once performance bonuses are factored in, annual compensation will rise so significantly that the leading digit will change."
Meanwhile, the Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group Cho-Gi-Up Labor Union, the largest union at Samsung Electronics, is demanding that management improve the performance bonus system.
The union is calling for the abolition of the performance bonus cap of 50 percent of annual salary, the use of 15 percent of operating profit as the source of performance bonuses, and greater transparency in the existing Overall Performance Incentive (OPI) bonus system. The union has warned it will launch a general strike on the 21st if management does not accept these demands.
Some securities analysts forecast that Samsung Electronics' annual operating profit this year could reach 300 trillion won. If 15 percent of operating profit were distributed as performance bonuses to the 78,000 employees in the semiconductor division, the per-capita amount would approach 600 million won.
However, management argues that eliminating the performance bonus cap and paying out a fixed percentage of operating profit as bonuses could reduce investment capacity. It also says fairness with non-semiconductor divisions must be considered.
The two sides held a second post-mediation session arranged by the National Labor Relations Commission but failed to reach an agreement. Labor and management are scheduled to sit down at the negotiating table once more on the same day.
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