'Stakeholders should be happy, too'

Of the many issues facing Korea's semiconductor sector, how to deal with "excess profits" from the semiconductor super cycle has been one of the most hotly debated.

In the business sector, it has generated labor-management strife over how much employees should receive in bonuses, starting with the bonus payments given to workers at SK hynix.

Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, gave his take on companies earning major profits sharing the wealth.

It was the first time the leader of SK Group addressed SK hynix's extra bonus granted to employees over its larger-than-expected operating profit in the first quarter.

In response to SK hynix's move, unionized workers at rival chipmaker Samsung Electronics successfully negotiated a 12 percent bonus payment in May, and similar demands have started popping up in other industries.

Indicating a need to rethink profit distribution, at the Jeju Forum on July 15, Chey said, "It would be a problem if everyone were unhappy with it.

But I do not see the issue that way.

I want to keep our employees as happy as ...