New hiring at banks narrows down to half

An ATM is seen outside a food court in Seoul, March 13. Yonhap By Yi Whan-woo The country’s four largest commercial banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori — cut down the number of new jobs by nearly half from a year earlier in the first six months of 2024, data showed, Friday. Such a reduction in new positions prompts concerns that the lenders are being unfaithful in their social responsibility to hire more young people, after reaping a record interest income, which is often criticized as a “windfall” profit.

The data compiled by the four companies showed they hired 530 entry-level employees in total from January to June this year. By company, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank each hired 100. The number of new employees tallied 150 at Hana Bank and 180 at Woori Bank.



The 530 marked a decrease of 433 people or 45.1 percent down from the first half of 2023 when they collectively hired 963 employees, most of them in their 20s or 30s. “The fewer job opportunities for the young jobseekers suggests these large companies are negligent in fulfilling their role for co-prosperity,” said the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), a Seoul-based civic group.

It noted that while the country’s unemployment has been declining, more young people fail to land jobs and give up job search in the worst circumstances. The coalition also noted that the four banks posted an interest income of 16.65 trillion won ($12.

47 billion) combined in the first half, which went up 8.6 percent year-on-year and marked a record high. The surge in interest income was driven by a high benchmark interest rate.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the CCEJ said the prospects look bleak for the second half concerning the four companies’ job openings. For instance, Woori Bank, the smallest of the four, plans to employ 210 entry-level workers. The number is down from 250, and the aggregate number of new workers for all of 2024 will fall to 390 from 530 a year earlier.

On condition of anonymity, a public relations staffer at a major bank said accelerated digital transition is a reason behind fewer jobs for the rookies. “The banks are closing down retail branch offices increasingly as consumers are turning to mobile banking services,” he said. “In that regard, it is IT engineers that are in high demand at the companies, not entry-level employees who are usually assigned to retail branch offices.

" Banks, however, are not a preferred workplace among IT engineers due to their conservative corporate culture. The staffer also said a decline in voluntary retirement for those in their 40s and 50s results in a cost burden and that the banks refrain from hiring new workers as a result. A lower number of experienced employees in their 40s and 50s quit voluntarily at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, because the benefits offered were not as good as in the past, according to the sources.

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