Bank chairmen to face huge wage cut for poor performance

Heads of major financial holding companies in South Korea will face a sharp wage cut starting this year as regulators enforce a performance-based pay system for the top executives, industry sources said Wednesday, a step partly answering to escalating criticism over their moral hazard. The top four financial holding companies -- KB Financial Group Inc., Shinhan Financial Group Co., Woori Finance Holdings Co. and Hana Financial Group Inc. -- have decided to cut the basic salary of their chairmen by 30 percent this year, reducing the average annual salary to 1.44 billion won (US$1.35 million) from 2.05 billion won last year, according to the sources.