Korean Corporate Executive Directors Reap Huge Compensation

It was reported that executive directors at Korea's top 20 companies were paid nearly 1 billion won on average last year for their services. This converts to over $800,000 dollars.

These executive paychecks reflect sizable earnings from lucrative bonuses. In a Korean firm, director’s are elgible to reap huge bonuses of between 400%-900% of their base salary.

The size of executive paychecks has been under increased scrutiny in the wake of corporate scandals in recent years.
In contrast, the average wage for Korean workers is $40,000

One justification for the high compensation is that workers below the director level are governed by labor laws, while directors often work 12-hour days on weekdays, and until 3 on Saturdays. In addition, their responsibilities require them to work 7 day a week, travel frequently, and entertain vendors and customers late into the evening.

In Korea’s corporate management structuring, less than 3% of a firm’s department managers rise to director level and even fewer to managing director and then executive director positions.