Gate News message, April 24 — SK Hynix reported a fivefold surge in quarterly operating profit to a record 37.61 trillion won ($32.4 billion) on April 23, driven by soaring demand from artificial intelligence and data centers. The windfall is fueling unprecedented employee bonuses, which analysts project could reach up to $878,000 per employee in 2027 if current earnings forecasts hold.
Under a 2025 labor agreement allocating 10% of operating profit to bonuses, SK Hynix employees received an average payout of 1.5 times their annual salary in 2025. Analyst estimates suggest average bonuses of $400,000 to $540,000 in 2026, and $878,000 in 2027 based on Macquarie Group’s profit projections of 447 trillion won. With a domestic workforce of roughly 34,000, even conservative estimates imply bonuses 20 times higher than the nation’s average annual income.
The concentration of wealth in the chip sector is stoking concerns over widening inequality. South Korea’s central bank warned that gains from technology sectors are accruing disproportionately to higher-income groups, creating a “K-shaped” economy where a few workers surge ahead while others languish. The BOK cautioned that such disparities could undermine economic sustainability. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics also reported record-breaking first-quarter operating profit, surging more than eightfold.
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