On March 12, 2026, Kia Motors pulled back the curtain on a significant shift in its executive compensation landscape, revealing that Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, received a salary from Kia for the very first time in 2025. This move, disclosed in Kia’s 2025 business report, marks a notable departure from Chung’s previous approach of unpaid management at the company since he took up the chairman role in 2020.
According to Kia’s official filings, Chung’s total compensation from Kia last year amounted to 5.4 billion KRW, split evenly between a 2.7 billion KRW salary and a 2.7 billion KRW bonus. The company clarified that this payment structure was carefully determined based on a combination of factors: “Salary was based on job duties, rank, leadership, expertise, company contribution, and talent development, while bonuses were determined by business performance, executive achievements, and external market conditions,” Kia explained in the business report, as reported by JoongAng Ilbo and ZDNet Korea.
Chung’s compensation from Kia is only part of the picture. In 2025, he also received 3.06 billion KRW in salary and bonuses from Hyundai Mobis, where he serves as CEO. With Hyundai Motor’s own business report yet to be released, the total confirmed compensation Chung received from Kia and Hyundai Mobis in 2025 stands at 8.46 billion KRW. Industry watchers are waiting for the Hyundai Motor report, due on March 18, to see the full scope of Chung’s earnings for the year.
Until last year, Chung had maintained what Kia described as “unpaid management” at the automaker, not drawing a salary or bonus from Kia since his appointment as chairman in 2020. The decision to begin compensating him in 2025, according to Kia, reflects both his increased leadership responsibilities and the company’s desire to strengthen “responsible management” amid a rapidly changing and competitive global automotive landscape. The company stated, “Chung has contributed to record business results through competitiveness and global talent acquisition since becoming an internal director in March 2019. The increased responsibility is reflected by the compensation starting in 2025.”
The timing of this change is especially noteworthy given Kia’s performance in 2025. The automaker posted consolidated sales of 114.1409 trillion KRW and sold 3,135,873 vehicles—both all-time highs for the company. These record-breaking numbers highlight the company’s robust performance in a fiercely competitive market. Yet, the picture was not entirely rosy. Kia’s operating profit for the year fell sharply by 28.3% to 9.0781 trillion KRW, a decline largely attributed to the impact of US automotive tariffs. These tariffs have posed a significant challenge for Korean automakers, squeezing margins even as sales volumes rise.
The business report also detailed compensation for other top executives at Kia. Song Ho-sung, Kia’s CEO, received a total of 3.042 billion KRW in 2025, up 5.7% from 2.877 billion KRW in 2024. His pay included 1.516 billion KRW in salary, 1.516 billion KRW in bonuses, and about 10 million KRW in other income. Safety officer Choi Jun-young saw the largest year-on-year increase among the top brass, with his compensation jumping 54.4% to 2.274 billion KRW. This figure comprised 1.116 billion KRW in salary, 1.157 billion KRW in bonuses, and about 1 million KRW in other income. Executive director Kim Seung-joon, meanwhile, received 773 million KRW for the year.
Kia’s business report went into detail about how executive compensation is determined. The company emphasized that “compensation was based on job duties, rank, leadership, expertise, and company contribution,” while bonuses were “linked to sales and operating profit performance.” This approach, the company argued, ensures that executive pay is closely tied to both individual and corporate achievements.
Chung’s leadership at Hyundai Motor Group has coincided with a period of remarkable transformation and growth for Kia. Since being named an internal director in March 2019 and later ascending to the chairman role in 2020, Chung has overseen a push for greater competitiveness, a focus on global talent acquisition, and a strategic pivot toward future mobility solutions. According to Kia, these efforts have been instrumental in driving the company to new heights, even as the broader automotive industry grapples with rapid technological change and geopolitical uncertainty.
Still, the decision to begin compensating Chung after years of unpaid management has sparked some debate among industry analysts and stakeholders. Some see it as an overdue recognition of the chairman’s contributions and a necessary step to align executive incentives with company performance. Others, however, question the optics of awarding large compensation packages in a year when operating profit fell so sharply, especially in light of the challenges posed by US tariffs and an uncertain global economic environment.
For its part, Kia maintains that the new compensation policy is both justified and transparent. The company pointed to Chung’s role in achieving “record business results through competitiveness and global talent acquisition” and cited the need for “responsible management” in an era of growing global competition. “In a market where future mobility competition is intensifying and geopolitical uncertainties are increasing, we decided to strengthen responsible management by starting to pay compensation last year,” Kia said in its filings.
The broader context for these changes is one of both opportunity and risk for Korean automakers. The industry is undergoing a profound transformation, with electric vehicles, autonomous driving technologies, and new mobility services shaking up traditional business models. At the same time, shifting trade policies and tariffs—particularly from the US—have injected new uncertainty into the market, forcing companies like Kia to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.
Despite these headwinds, Kia’s record sales and production figures for 2025 underscore the company’s resilience and growing global footprint. The automaker’s ability to achieve its highest-ever sales and vehicle delivery numbers, even as profits slipped, reflects both its underlying strength and the challenges of competing on the world stage.
As the market awaits Hyundai Motor’s own business report, which will offer a more complete picture of Chung Eui-sun’s total compensation for the year, the spotlight remains firmly on how Korea’s leading automakers are navigating a landscape marked by both unprecedented growth and unpredictable challenges. The move to begin compensating Chung, after years of unpaid management, signals a new era of executive accountability and reward at Kia—a development that will be closely watched by investors, employees, and industry observers alike.
In the ever-evolving world of global automotive giants, Kia’s bold steps in executive compensation and record-breaking performance set the stage for a year of heightened expectations and continued transformation.