Chairman Huh Chang-soo of GS Group, South Korea’s refinery and retail conglomerate, ranked No. 1 in the list of the nation’s highest-paid executives for the first half of this year, according to a financial watchdog Tuesday.

Huh, who also heads the Federation of Korean Industries, the nation’s largest business lobbying group, earned some 5.2 billion won ($4.2 million) between January and June this year, the Financial Supervisory Service said.

Huh was followed by Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo with 4.2 billion won and Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho with 4.1 billion won.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and CEO Kwon Oh-hyun, who topped the list for 2015, slid to sixth, receiving 2.9 billion won in wages for the cited period.

By khnews@heraldcorp.com