Gate News message, April 15 — South Korean chaebol family members earned an average of 2.72 billion won ($2.01 million) in 2025, 26.9 times the average employee compensation of 101.2 million won, according to a report by CEO Score covering 460 listed affiliates of 81 business groups.
Three executives exceeded a 100x pay gap: Doosan Group Chairman Park Jung-won received 18.13 billion won (158.4x employee average), Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon earned 10.2 billion won (115.5x), and Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin took 5.85 billion won (114.4x). Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon topped all earners with 24.84 billion won across five affiliates.
Ten companies raised owner family pay while cutting employee compensation, led by Samyang Holdings where CEO Kim Kun-ho’s pay rose 64.9% to 930 million won as staff pay fell 5.3%. Conversely, 34 firms reduced owner pay while raising employee compensation, notably Celltrion where Vice Chairman Seo Jin-seok’s pay dropped 45.6% to 1.13 billion won as staff pay increased 9.8%.
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