SK Hynix and its labor union have reached a tentative agreement on this year's wage and collective bargaining negotiations. The key issue of performance bonuses has been settled, with 40% of the excess profit sharing (PS) to be paid in cash and the remaining 60% in company stock. Wages will increase by 6.3%.
According to industry sources, the SK Hynix union held an emergency temporary delegate meeting on the afternoon of August 20 to explain the '2026 Tentative Agreement' to its members. The agreement includes a 6.3% wage increase and an increase in company welfare points.
The core of the agreement is a change in the performance bonus system. The company and union previously agreed to eliminate the cap on the PS, which is based on 10% of last year's operating profit, and to maintain a structure where 80% of the payment is made in cash and 20% is deferred over two years at 10% each for a period of 10 years. The new tentative agreement reduces the cash portion to 40% and allocates 60% to company stock. Of the stock portion, 40% can be sold immediately, while 20% will be deferred.
If the annual operating profit reaches 250 trillion won as projected by analysts, the PS fund will amount to 25 trillion won. With approximately 35,000 employees, this translates to an average of 70 million won (pre-tax) per person. Under the new structure, employees would receive about 28 million won in cash and approximately 42 million won in company stock. Actual payment amounts will vary based on rank and individual evaluations.
The union plans to hold a delegate vote soon to finalize the agreement. However, there are concerns that the voting process may not go smoothly due to potential fluctuations in stock prices affecting the actual compensation amounts.
Meanwhile, SK Hynix announced the day before its plan to buy back and retire 40 trillion won worth of its own shares, the largest buyback in the history of domestic listed companies. This represents about 3.3% of the total issued shares and will be conducted over three months starting from today.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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