The first-half compensation packages for the leaders of South Korea’s two largest IT platforms have been disclosed. Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon received 2.967 billion won (approximately $2.1 million), while Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a took home 1.209 billion won (approximately $856,000).
According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system (DART) on August 14, Choi’s first-half compensation rose 14.2% (approximately 417 million won) from 2.55 billion won in the same period last year. The breakdown includes 550 million won in salary, 1.43 billion won in bonuses, 655 million won in restricted stock units (RSUs, 3,250 shares), and 32 million won in other employment income.
Naver cited 100% achievement of key performance indicator targets as the basis for compensation, including 2025 operating revenue of 12 trillion won (approximately $8.5 billion) and operating profit of 2.2 trillion won (approximately $1.6 billion). The company stated, “We comprehensively considered the contribution to overall revenue growth through the preemptive execution of on-service AI, establishing a virtuous cycle connecting AI to business performance, expanding the global footprint, increasing strategic investments in future core areas, and driving company-wide synergies through organizational restructuring and talent management system overhaul.”
Founder and Chairman Lee Hae-jin received 1.598 billion won (approximately $1.1 million) in the first half, unchanged from the same period last year. His package consisted of 770 million won in salary, 728 million won in bonuses, and 6 million won in other employment income. Regarding Lee’s bonus, Naver said it “comprehensively considered his role as founder and board chairman in presenting financial performance, governance system advancement, and long-term strategic direction.”
The compensation gap between Choi and Lee widened to 1.069 billion won, up from 952 million won in the same period last year. Choi first surpassed Lee in the first half of 2024 and has now received higher compensation for three consecutive years.
Compensation Rises Despite RSU Decline
Choi’s pay increase was driven primarily by salary and bonus hikes. Salary rose 22.2% and bonuses climbed 38.2% year-over-year. In contrast, RSU awards fell 36.2% from 1.026 billion won to 655 million won.
RSU grant sizes are determined by the percentile ranking of relative stock price performance within the KOSPI 200 index. In the first half of last year, all tranches received 100% vesting, but this year the 2023 grant and 2024 grant were set at 50% each, while the 2025 grant was set at 56.7%. This reflects Naver’s stock price decline from 242,500 won (approximately $172) at the end of last year to 199,000 won (approximately $141) on June 30 of this year.
Choi’s first-half compensation has grown approximately 2.6-fold over three years, from 1.042 billion won in 2023, to 1.591 billion won in 2024, 2.55 billion won last year, and 2.667 billion won this year (based on Naver’s semi-annual report).
The second-highest paid Naver executive in the first half was former leader Kim Tae-woong, who retired on March 31 and received 1.839 billion won. This included 557 million won in severance pay and 538 million won in stock option exercise gains. He was followed by Chairman Lee, Chief Data Officer Kim Kwang-hyun at 1.484 billion won, and Chief Operating Officer Kim Beom-jun at 1.479 billion won.
Kim Hee-chul, who became a registered director of Naver in March as CFO, was excluded from individual compensation disclosure. Registered directors are subject to individual disclosure only when compensation exceeds 500 million won, and Kim’s first-half pay appears to have fallen short of that threshold.
Kakao’s Chung Shin-a Sees 29.6% Increase to 1.209 Billion Won
Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a received 1.209 billion won (approximately $856,000) in the first half of this year, up 29.6% from 933 million won in the same period last year. The package comprised 500 million won in salary, 706 million won in bonuses, and 3 million won in other employment income.
Kakao explained that base salary was paid in equal installments based on the value of the role and individual capabilities, with bonuses set at 176% of base annual salary. The company stated it “achieved performance metrics including KakaoTalk’s average daily active chat rooms directly tied to advertising revenue, advertiser count growth trends by budget segment, total gift purchase transactions, as well as ESG management indicators related to climate change response, digital accessibility, mutual growth, technology ethics, risk management, and service stability.”
It added, “We considered her contributions as CEO and co-chair of the CA Council, including securing future growth engines through AI new business initiatives, strengthening competitiveness of key services, reinforcing sustainable management based on technology ethics and ESG, driving group governance reform and management stability, and playing a central role in group-level crisis response and long-term business direction setting.”
Former Kakao Chief Product Officer Hong Min-taek received total first-half compensation of 2.816 billion won (approximately $2.0 million). The breakdown includes 314 million won in salary, 628 million won in bonuses, 318 million won in severance pay, and 1.556 billion won in other employment income. Other employment income included employee benefits and the excess portion of executive severance pay beyond the limit under income tax law. Hong led the KakaoTalk redesign but departed on May 31 amid internal leadership controversy.
Naver posted record full-year results last year with consolidated revenue of 12.035 trillion won (approximately $8.5 billion) and operating profit of 2.2081 trillion won (approximately $1.6 billion). First-half consolidated revenue this year reached 6.6299 trillion won (approximately $4.7 billion), up 16.2% and a record for a half-year period, while operating profit rose 3.4% to 1.0621 trillion won (approximately $752 million). However, profit growth slowed year-over-year due to expanded AI investment.