Key facts
- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix paid a combined 11.2 trillion won in corporate taxes in the first half of the year.
- Samsung Electronics paid 3.99 trillion won and SK hynix paid 7.22 trillion won.
- The combined tax payment jumped 167% from a year earlier.
- This is the second-highest first-half total on record.
- The companies posted first-half operating profits of 146.7 trillion won and 98.2 trillion won, respectively.
Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. paid a combined 11.2 trillion won (US$8.1 billion) in corporate taxes in the first half of this year, driven by record profits amid the semiconductor supercycle. Samsung paid 3.99 trillion won and SK hynix paid 7.22 trillion won.
The two companies' combined tax payments surged 167 percent from a year earlier, marking the second-highest first-half total on record. This figure trails only the 15.63 trillion won they paid in the first half of 2019, which was based on their record profits during a memory chip boom in 2018.
Market watchers anticipate further increases in corporate tax payments, as both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix reported substantial first-half operating profits of 146.7 trillion won and 98.2 trillion won, respectively. These figures represent a significant jump from the 11.4 trillion won and 16.7 trillion won reported in the previous year. Projections indicate annual operating profits of 385 trillion won for Samsung Electronics and 266 trillion won for SK hynix in 2026.