This study examines the compensation scheme for the executives and risk-taking behavior in the Korean banks. Theoretically, shareholders prefer risky asset choice to the optimal one due to the limited liability feature of reward, and stock-based executive compensation may induce choices favorable to the shareholder. We empirically test this risk-taking hypothesis using Korean banks'' data. Since only the stock option data is available under the current disclosure system, we limit our analysis to examine the relationship between the compensation through stock option and the risk of banks. The result provides no evidence that stock option compensations increase the risk of banks, which is contrary to the theoretical prediction and preceding studies in the US. This may be due to any factor that the executive reward data omit, or regulation effects on the bank management.