Hanssem CEO taking only minimum wage until turnaround

Hanssem CEO Kim Jin-tae is only being paid minimum wage until company revenue or its stock price rise over a certain level, as both figures have been tumbling.

Hanssem CEO Kim Jin-tae [HANSSEM]

Hanssem CEO Kim Jin-tae is only being paid minimum wage until company revenue, or the stock price, rises above a certain level, as both figures have been tumbling.

Kim announced on the company’s bulletin board that he will continue to receive minimum wage until Hanssem’s monthly revenue rises 10 percent on year, or until the stock price breaks 105,000 won ($81.70).

The 105,000-won threshold is the target price set by analysts.

Hanssem’s stock traded at 149,000 won per share in July last year, when it was announced that IMM Private Equity would participate in the bid to acquire a stake in the company. The shares were trading at 65,400 won on Tuesday.

Although the company doesn’t disclose monthly revenue, its quarterly figures have been falling. Hanssem’s revenue in the first quarter fell 4.9 percent on year to 526 billion won. Net profit fell 11.78 percent on year to 17.5 billion won.

With both goals yet to be reached, Hanssem said Kim received a monthly salary of 1.91 million for May. This year’s minimum wage is 9,610 won per hour.

Hanssem is a home interior and remodeling company, which gets more deals when people buy more houses. But there has been fewer purchases recently. According to Korea Real Estate Board, there were 138,349 houses purchased in the first quarter, down 50.5 percent on year.

The number of housing leases increased 16.3 percent on year to 695,457 in the first quarter. People leasing tend to refrain from remodeling homes because the house isn't theirs.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]