KINTEX CEO's 205.68 Million Won Annual Salary Under Fire

The high salary of KINTEX's CEO has come under scrutiny during an administrative audit of KINTEX conducted by the Economic and Labor Committee of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly.

Shin Myung-soon (Democratic Party, Gimpo District 3), a member of the Economic and Labor Committee, pointed out during the administrative audit of KINTEX at the 395th regular session held on the 10th that the CEO's salary is exceeding the recommended maximum compensation for heads of Gyeonggi Province public institutions, and urged improvements to the compensation system.

According to materials submitted to Councilmember Shin, the 2026 annual salary of KINTEX's CEO is approximately 205.68 million won, combining a base salary of 189.13 million won and other compensation of 16.55 million won, which exceeds the recommended maximum of approximately 181.18 million won under the "Ordinance on the Maximum Compensation of Executives of Gyeonggi Province Public Institutions" by approximately 24.5 million won.

Article 4 of the ordinance stipulates that in order to prevent the compensation of public institution executives from being excessively set and conflicting with public interest, the CEO's salary cap should be recommended not to exceed seven times the monthly minimum wage converted annually multiplied by 12 months.

KINTEX's 2025 executive salary was already confirmed to exceed the recommended maximum compensation at that time by approximately 18.72 million won, and received a point during the management evaluation that verification and correction were necessary regarding the appropriateness of compensation standard operations. According to Councilmember Shin's explanation, the 2026 CEO's total annual salary increased compared to the previous year, and the scope of excess over the recommended maximum also expanded to approximately 24.5 million won.

In response, Councilmember Shin stated, "It is difficult to accept that the salary was actually increased this year despite receiving a point in last year's management evaluation that the executive salary exceeded the recommended maximum and correction was necessary."

Furthermore, Councilmember Shin emphasized, "While appropriate compensation for the management performance and expertise of public institution heads is necessary, since the institution is funded by citizens' taxes and public capital, public interest and accountability must be prioritized in determining compensation."