A person is seen in front of Hyundai Motor Group's headquarters in southern Seoul on Jan. 9, 2025. [YONHAP]
With Samsung Electronics and SK hynix employees set to get significant bonuses amid the global chip rally, a person claiming to be a Hyundai Motor employee vented their frustrations online, saying the windfall was nothing more than workers being in the right place at the right time.
On Sunday, an anonymous user on the online community Blind uploaded a post that reads, “In life, it feels like luck matters more than anything else.” The remarks targeted employees at the country's two largest chipmakers who are expected to receive bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won.
“Back when I was applying for jobs, Samsung Electronics was reserved for the underperformers who still wished for the prestige of a conglomerate. SK hynix was considered a place for students from two-year colleges — probably worse academically than graduates of vocational high schools.”
Users on Blind must verify their workplace affiliation before uploading posts, meaning that the writer either actually works at Hyundai Motor or has borrowed someone else's account.
The post continued, citing the widening pay gap.
“Even if I earned performance bonuses from Hyundai Motor for the rest of my life, I still wouldn’t make as much as those at Samsung and [SK] hynix,” the post read. “I feel like the entire logic I grew up with has collapsed. This isn’t even about envy anymore. It feels like the whole country is moving in a strange direction.”
The post quickly drew mixed reactions online.
Some users agreed, saying the semiconductor industry had simply benefited from extraordinary timing during the AI boom.
“Their luck in the AI era has just been insanely good,” another online user wrote. Some users echoed the sentiment, writing, “I’m jealous,” and “Success in life mostly comes down to luck.”
A view shows Samsung Electronics' chip production plant at Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on Sep. 7, 2022. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS/REUTERS/YONHAP]
But many criticized the Hyundai Motor employee for belittling others’ efforts, calling his logic “results-oriented.”
“Why do you demean other people’s hard work?” one user wrote.
“The more you compare yourself to others, the unhappier you become,” another commenter added. “Be grateful for what you already have.”
Another user who appeared to work at Samsung Electronics was among those criticizing the post. “You’re mistaken if you think people with better grades inherently deserve to make more money,” the commenter wrote.
Another user identifying as an SK hynix
employee argued that prestige in the job market is constantly shifting.
“Twenty years ago, top students all flocked to public corporations and teachers' colleges,” the commenter wrote. “Every industry has its time in the spotlight.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
댓글
0