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Chasing bonuses won't bring happiness, SK chief worth $1.3 billion tells employees amid labor dispute

Published: 21 Aug. 2025, 13:31 Updated: 21 Aug. 2025, 19:35

KIM JU-YEON
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SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won takes questions from participants during the closing session of the group's 2025 Icheon Forum at the SK Seorin Building in Seoul on Aug. 20. [SK SUPEX COUNCIL]

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won told employees that chasing ever-higher bonuses will not lead to lasting satisfaction, apparently addressing the ongoing conflict at SK hynix over performance pay.

“I heard that people are not satisfied even with a 1,700 percent bonus. But even if it rises to 3,000 percent or 5,000 percent, it will not bring happiness," Chey said, speaking at SK’s headquarters in central Seoul on Wednesday during the 2025 Icheon Forum’s “Wise SK Life” session.

“If you focus only on compensation [such as bonuses], you cannot see the future. That is a shortsighted approach," he added.

He noted that SK hynix may have overcome its long-held second-place position in semiconductors to reach No. 1, but “uncertainty and unhappiness remain.”

His remarks came in response to a question on sustainable happiness.

“Happiness differs from person to person and each has their own standard, but there are parts in common. What SK pursues is to raise that common happiness everyone can feel together," Chey said.

The comments follow escalating tensions between SK hynix management and labor over this year’s wage negotiations. The company, which is enjoying record earnings from surging demand for AI chips, proposed raising the performance bonus cap from 1,000 percent of base pay to 1,700 percent.

The union insists that management should honor its 2021 pledge to allocate 10 percent of operating profit for bonuses and distribute the entire sum to employees.

The company argues that the 10 percent figure was meant as a funding pool, with payouts capped at 1,000 percent unless separately negotiated.

The union has staged two large-scale rallies this month, including the first general protest in the company’s history at its Cheongju campus on Aug. 6, followed by a second at its Ichon campus on Aug. 12.

Chey, as the chairman of one of Korea's largest conglomerates encompassing telecom, chips, chemicals and more, is estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of $1.3 billion as of Thursday, making him the country's 36th richest person.

Chey is the nephew of SK Group founder Chey Jong-gun and the eldest son of former SK Chairman Chey Jong-hyun. He was appointed chairman of the board of the group in 1998.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI SUN-EUL,KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]