South Korea's semiconductor boom creates 'super-wage' workers, fueling inequality fears

South Korea's booming semiconductor industry is creating a new class of "super-high-wage" workers, drawing comparisons to the medical profession. SK Hynix, for example, recorded approximately 4.2 trillion won in employee performance bonuses for the first quarter, which were accounted for as "accrued liabilities" in its financial statements. This means employees could receive an average of 120 million won ($86,000 USD) per person in bonuses during just the first three months of the year.

When calculated based on the annual operating profit, which is expected to exceed 40 trillion won, employees at SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics' semiconductor divisions could receive an average of 600 to 700 million won ($430,000 to $500,000 USD) in bonuses for the year. This figure surpasses the total annual compensation of employees at global tech giants like Nvidia and Alphabet (Google's parent company), whose median employee compensation was around $420,000 and $470,000 USD, respectively, in recent fiscal years.

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The nation as a whole is doing well, but people are not happy.

However, this "bonus feast" in the semiconductor sector is sparking concerns about exacerbating South Korea's existing "three major gaps", income, earnings, and assets, which have widened since the late 1990s Asian financial crisis. Experts predict that the rapid advancement of AI will solidify the super-high incomes of a select few in benefiting companies, while many others face job and income reductions. This economic divergence is also expected to increase the gap between the perceived economic conditions of high-earning workers and those of small businesses, vulnerable workers, and the self-employed.

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If the national wealth earned by semiconductors is absorbed by real estate speculation and the fruits of growth are concentrated only in the hands of a few, this boom will not last long.