Ordinary Office Workers Feel Envious as Classmates Become Multi-Millionaires

As news of record-breaking bonuses in the semiconductor industry spreads, a growing number of ordinary office workers are experiencing a sense of relative deprivation upon seeing classmates with similar careers become multi-billionaires. This situation has also drawn disgruntled reactions, calling it 'a feast for them alone.'

SK Hynix agreed to a bonus payout exceeding 1,000% of base salary last year, and projections suggest employees could receive around 700 million won per person this year based on expected operating profits. Samsung Electronics' union is demanding 15% of operating profits be distributed, indicating bonuses could reach hundreds of millions of won next year. The backdrop for these large bonus payouts is seen as a combination of external factors like the surge in global AI semiconductor demand and the synergistic cooperation within South Korea's semiconductor ecosystem.

Lee Myung-jin (43), an office worker with an engineering background, expressed feelings of emptiness, stating that despite no significant difference in job difficulty or effort, the reality of earning multiple times more in salary and bonuses due to industry shifts is disheartening.

The controversy surrounding bonus payouts has evolved into an issue of fairness, drawing criticism over the compensation gap between production workers and professionals, and the uniform compensation system. Within large corporations, a 'non-union vs. non-union' conflict dynamic has emerged, dividing employees into 'classes' based on their industry. This controversy has underscored the possibility of receiving extraordinary compensation based on performance.

A new term, 'Medical-Dental-Pharmacy-Veterinary-Semiconductor,' has emerged in the education sector, with applications to related departments surging and significantly impacting the educational landscape. There's also an expectation of a 'trickle-down effect' from these massive bonuses on the market. Many office workers, despite the bonuses being unrelated to them, approach the situation with the mentality of 'catching a bit of warmth from the side,' leading to phenomena like purchasing real estate in areas near the shuttle bus stops of these two companies, dubbed 'Shuttle-shuttle rights' ('Shuttersekwon'). This is based on the prediction that the bonuses will eventually flow into the real estate market, with related information being shared and even paid consultation channels appearing.

As Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are key drivers of South Korea's KOSPI index, shareholders in these companies have also anticipated stock price increases with a sense of being 'on the same boat.' Professor Kim Ki-seung of Busan National University's Economics Department pointed out that while the argument for distributing bonuses to the entire nation goes against market principles, the social burden and side effects resulting from the rapidly widening gap will be considerable.