Former head of Samsung Electronics Co.'s chip and handset division Kwon Oh-hyun was the highest-paid executive in South Korea last year, market data showed Monday.

Kwon, who stepped down from the post and reposted as chairman of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in the conglomerate's latest reshuffle, was presumed to have received a combined 20 billion won ($18.7 million), including 14 billion won in salary and 5 billion won as a bonus, according to the data by local market tracker Chaebul.com.

His total pay marked the highest annual salary for a professional executive since 2013, when it became mandatory for companies to disclose such payment records of their board members.