Cases assigned to two investigation divisions center on May bonus agreements, including Samsung's 10.5% semiconductor special bonus and SK Hynix's 10% profit-sharing formula.
South Korean police have opened two investigations after a shareholder group accused Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix executives of breach of trust over employee bonus agreements tied to semiconductor performance. The Korea Shareholder Movement Headquarters said on Aug. 5 that the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency had assigned the cases to its first and second investigation divisions after the group filed a complaint with the National Office of Investigation on July 22. The complaint names Samsung Electronics co-CEO Jeon Young-hyun, Vice Chairman Roh Tae-moon and SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung, alleging they reached the agreements during union performance-bonus negotiations without sufficient prudential review, in potential violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. The agreements cited in the complaint were implemented in May: Samsung said it would pay a special bonus equal to 10.5% of semiconductor business performance gains, while SK Hynix operates a profit-sharing mechanism that allocates 10% of semiconductor division operating profit to employee bonuses.