[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

Parental leave rates at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both fell in the first half of this year, even as a semiconductor boom raised expectations of massive performance bonuses at both companies. It marks the first time the two firms have simultaneously recorded a decline in parental leave usage since related disclosures began.

According to semi-annual and business reports filed with the Financial Supervisory Service's DART system Sunday, Samsung Electronics' parental leave rate stood at 35.5 percent in the first half of this year, down 0.7 percentage points from 36.2 percent in the same period last year.

The rate among male employees fell from 12.4 percent to 11.2 percent, while the rate among female employees dropped from 94.3 percent to 88.2 percent.

SK hynix showed the same trend. Its parental leave rate in the first half of this year came in at 3.2 percent, down 0.8 percentage points from 4.0 percent a year earlier. The rate fell from 1.3 percent to 0.7 percent for male employees and from 10.1 percent to 8.9 percent for female employees.

Samsung Electronics' parental leave rate had been on an upward trajectory, rising from 34.5 percent in 2022 to 37.4 percent in 2023 and 39.5 percent in 2024, before slipping to 38.1 percent last year. It has now fallen again in the first half of this year compared with the same period a year ago.

SK hynix climbed from 7.8 percent in 2022 to 8.2 percent in 2023, then dropped to 6.6 percent in 2024. After a modest rebound to 6.9 percent last year, the figure has declined again so far this year.

The two companies use different methodologies to calculate their parental leave rates. Samsung Electronics counts the share of employees with a child born in a given year who took parental leave within one year of the birth. SK hynix bases its figures on employees with children in elementary school or younger. Despite the methodological difference, a year-on-year decline at both companies in the first half of this year is clear from each firm's own comparable data.

Semiconductor boom drives up bonus expectations

Industry observers have raised the possibility that expectations of improved semiconductor earnings and large bonuses this year may be influencing employees' decisions about when to take parental leave.

Samsung Electronics and its union agreed through this year's wage negotiations to create a new special management performance bonus for the Device Solutions (DS) division, which handles the semiconductor business. The bonus draws on 10.5 percent of business performance as defined by labor and management, with no cap on the payout rate.

The existing excess profit bonus, known as OPI, will also be kept. At the time of the agreement, estimates circulated that a DS division employee earning an annual salary of 100 million won ($73,500) could receive a pretax bonus of anywhere from roughly 210 million won to as much as around 600 million won, depending on their business unit, if Samsung Electronics' annual operating profit reaches the 300 trillion won range.

SK hynix also removed the cap on last year's profit-sharing bonus, known as PS, and decided to fund it with 10 percent of operating profit.

SK hynix posted record earnings last year and paid employees a PS equivalent to 2,964 percent of their base salary earlier this year — about 148.2 million won for an employee with an annual salary of 100 million won. With operating profit expected to rise sharply on the back of this year's semiconductor boom, the bonus to be paid next year is also projected to grow.

SK hynix parental leave rate falls as earnings improve

A look at SK hynix's recent figures shows that periods of sharply improved earnings have coincided with declines in parental leave usage.

In 2023, when SK hynix posted an operating loss of around 8 trillion won, its parental leave rate was 8.2 percent. As the semiconductor industry recovered, operating profit surged to around 23 trillion won in 2024 and the parental leave rate fell to 6.6 percent. Last year, operating profit climbed further to around 47 trillion won while the parental leave rate edged up to 6.9 percent. In the first half of this year, it has dropped to 3.2 percent.

Analysts also note that bonus payment structures can factor into employees' decisions about when to take leave, as some bonuses vary based on tenure or length of service.

"It appears that taking parental leave can result in being excluded from bonus payments or receiving a lower payout due to a shorter qualifying service period," an industry official said. "If the semiconductor boom continues, it could have a further impact on parental leave usage across the industry."


rainbow@heraldcorp.com