A Samsung Electronics employee enters the company's building in Seocho District, southern Seoul [NEWS1]
Performance bonuses set to flow to workers at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix could reach a combined 60 trillion won ($39.7 billion) this year. That's equivalent to more than two percent of last year's national output and, apparently, large enough to reshape housing markets, monetary policy and the whole labor market across Korea.
Korea's major commercial banks have already begun positioning themselves around the chipmakers' payouts. One major bank is even considering stationing private bankers at satellite branches near the two companies' main sites, including SK hynix's headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi. Deploying private-banking staff for clients tied to a single employer is unusual, industry watchers said.
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“Satellite branches usually have only general staff handling remittances and loans, but we expect demand for asset management from these companies' employees to grow,” a spokesperson at the bank said. “We are looking at reassigning our strongest private bankers.”
