Samsung Electronics became the first South Korean company to post an operating profit of 20 trillion won in a single quarter, recording the milestone in the fourth quarter of last year (2025). (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics said it will pay sharply higher performance bonuses this year to employees in its semiconductor division, reflecting a strong rebound in memory earnings and robust sales of high-value chips, according to an internal notice released Friday.
The company’s Device Solutions (DS) division, which oversees semiconductors, will receive an excess profit incentive equivalent to 47 percent of annual salary, up from just 14 percent a year earlier. The payout reflects improved results in commodity DRAM and the ramp-up of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), including fifth-generation HBM3E products, Samsung said.
The bonuses are part of Samsung’s annual excess profit incentive program, which distributes up to 20 percent of profits that exceed internal targets, capped at 50 percent of an employee’s annual pay. The incentives will be paid on Jan. 30.
Within the DS division, the 47 percent rate applies uniformly across memory, foundry and system LSI operations. Foundry performance was buoyed by a record 22.8 trillion won supply contract with Tesla, while the system LSI unit secured a deal to supply next-generation image sensors for Apple’s upcoming iPhones.
Samsung Electronics has become the first South Korean company to post quarterly operating profit of 20 trillion won, far surpassing market expectations in the fourth quarter of 2025 and setting new records for both annual revenue and quarterly operating profit. The photo shows Samsung Electronics’ headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap)
Samsung’s preliminary earnings released earlier this month showed fourth-quarter operating profit of about 20 trillion won, with an estimated 16 to 17 trillion won generated by the semiconductor business.
In the company’s Device Experience division, the mobile unit received the maximum 50 percent payout, supported by strong sales of the Galaxy S25 and Fold 7 smartphone series. Other consumer-facing units, including visual display, home appliances, network and medical devices, were assigned a more modest 12 percent incentive rate.
Samsung’s management support functions and its automotive and audio subsidiary Harman will receive bonuses equivalent to 39 percent of annual pay.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
