Yonhap News
Overshadowed by the semiconductor boom, South Korea’s bankers have quietly grown wealthier. The country’s four major commercial banks, riding a run of record profits, raised employee pay at the fastest pace in 13 years.
Average per-capita pay at KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori banks reached 71.5 million won ($51,700) in the first half of this year, according to the financial industry on the 16th. That marked a 12.6% increase from a year earlier, the steepest first-half gain since 2013. The figure is a simple average of the compensation each bank disclosed in its semiannual report, excluding NH NongHyup Bank, which does not publish pay data.
By bank, Shinhan Bank led with 75 million won, also topping the group with a 21.0% increase. Woori Bank and Hana Bank each reported 71 million won, while KB Kookmin Bank posted 69 million won.
Compared with major conglomerates, the four banks’ average pay exceeded Samsung Electronics’ (005930.KS) 63 million won by 8.5 million won. It fell short, however, of SK hynix (000660.KS), whose average pay surged to 144 million won on a jump in its own stock price.
Employees who took voluntary early retirement fared even better. Hana Bank paid about 1.1 billion won each to five manager-level retirees. Severance for voluntary retirees at Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank ranged from 945 million to 1.055 billion won, while KB Kookmin Bank’s figure was in the 900 million won range.
Pay at financial holding companies far outstripped that at the banks. In the first half of this year, average employee pay at the five major financial groups was 100.8 million won, up 6.8% from a year earlier. It was the first time the average for the five groups topped 100 million won since Woori Financial Group was relaunched in 2019.
By group, KB Financial Group was highest at 121 million won, followed by Woori Financial Group at 110 million won, Hana Financial Group at 106 million won, Shinhan Financial Group at 97 million won and NH NongHyup Financial Group at 70 million won. Financial holding companies tend to have smaller headcounts and a higher share of senior positions, a structural feature that pushes up the average.