In the AI gold rush, Nvidia might be selling shovels, but it's the shovel parts manufacturers who are getting insanely rich. Korean chipmaker SK Hynix is sharing 10% of its profits with employees, meaning each will pocket an average bonus of $430,000 this year. Company jackets are now listed on secondhand markets as the "ultimate blind date outfit."
A poorly dressed customer enters a luxury store in South Korea and gets waved away by the staff. But then he takes off his coat, revealing a vest with the SK Hynix logo – the attitude flips 180 degrees. “God Hynix,” the employee calls him. It’s just one of the memes sweeping the country, highlighted in a recent SNL Korea parody.
The semiconductor supercycle, fueled by massive demand for AI, is causing an SK Hynix craze in South Korea.
The company, which produces DRAM and NAND chips, reported a five-fold increase in first-quarter net profit, reaching 40.3459 trillion won ($27.9 billion). For comparison, Nvidia, the dominant player making AI accelerators, netted $18.7 billion in the same quarter.
SK Hynix allocates 10% of its operating profit as a bonus pool for employees, which is expected to reach around 25 trillion won ($17.2 billion) this year. The average payout for each employee is projected to be around 600 million won, or roughly $430,000.
According to Numbeo, the average monthly salary in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is around $3,000 (4.3 million won).
The insane payouts are fueling unprecedented social phenomena.
South Korean media reports that SK Hynix employees now rank higher on dating platforms compared to other prestigious professions, such as doctors or lawyers.
According to The Chosun Daily, engineers are now the most desirable in the marriage market, but this also creates some burdens for married SK Hynix employees. They can’t take child leave, because this would mean giving up a lot of income.
The Korea Herald reports about SK Hynix jackets being sold on the secondhand market as a status symbol. Priced under $30, the jacket was advertised as the “ultimate blind date outfit,” quickly attracting thousands of views and becoming another meme.
Samsung employees now also want even larger compensation. According to the CW Trend Report, Samsung Electronics' labor union demands performance bonuses equal to 15% of the company’s operating profit, which translates to 600 million won ($430,000) per employee. The company's president called the demands “excessive.”
Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are the three major DRAM and NAND chip producers that dominate the market and are profiting from skyrocketing RAM and storage prices, fueled by the rapid expansion of AI computing and data centers.
While returns for employees and shareholders are soaring, there’s also criticism that companies aren’t keen to spend on capital expenditure and research and development.
“The increase in costs significantly outpaces the growth in capital expenditures (CAPEX) and research and development (R&D), which are directly linked to future competitiveness, such as the expansion of fabs (semiconductor factories) and the development of new technologies,” SeDaily warns.
The current market situation gives no relief for DRAM buyers. According to global research firm TrendForce, DRAM prices are projected to rise more than 70% in 2026, and trends of shortage and price surges are expected to persist.
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