Shinsegae Group Chairman cuts salary by 2.4% last year... ”Taking the lead in reform”

Chairman Chung Young-jin of South Korea's largest retailer, Shinsegae Group, cut his salary last year despite the company's performance improving. This was a sign of responsible management amid a difficult business environment.
According to E-Mart's business report released on the 18th, Chairman Chung received a salary of 1.982 billion won and a performance-based bonus of 1.627 billion won last year.
The total amount of compensation received by employees reached 3.609 billion won (approximately 371.55 million yen). This amount represents a 2.4% decrease compared to the previous year's 3.699 billion won. Salaries remained unchanged from the previous year.
However, the total compensation amount also decreased due to a reduction in performance-based pay from 1.717 billion won to 1.627 billion won.
Last year, E-Mart recorded an operating profit of 47.1 billion won and turned a profit.
Chung is said to have voluntarily decided to cut his performance-based pay. A company source said, "Chairman Chung, who became chairman in March last year, has achieved success, such as turning E-Mart into the black, but the company is still facing tough domestic and international economic conditions.
"We took the initiative to reduce our annual salaries in order to overcome the business environment," the company said. The group's general chairman Lee Myung-hee and honorary chairman Jeong Jae-eun also reduced their salaries.
The remuneration of Chairman Lee and Honorary Chairman Chung last year was 1.767 billion won, a 42.3 percent decrease from the previous year.
The total salary cuts amount to 37.5%. Shinsegae emphasized that the salary cuts for the chairmen this time represent their leadership in the company's renewal efforts.