Beomnonghyup, 809 Large-Scale Voluntary Retirement Applications This Year

NongHyup Central Association, NongHyup Financial Group, NongHyup Bank, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) and NongHyup Bank, along with other affiliated organizations, will implement workforce reductions by the end of this year. They offered better conditions for voluntary retirement than in previous years, resulting in over 800 applicants for voluntary retirement.

According to financial industry sources on the 1st, a total of 809 voluntary retirement applicants have emerged from the NACF, NongHyup Economic Holdings, NongHyup Financial Holdings, and NongHyup Bank. The affiliated organizations accepted voluntary retirement applications until the day before from employees aged 56 subject to the wage peak system and employees aged 40 or older with more than 10 years of service. A notable feature is the significant increase in special retirement pay compared to last year.

Among the five major commercial banks, NongHyup Bank was the first to receive voluntary retirement applications. For employees aged 56 subject to the wage peak system, the bank provides 28 months’ worth of average monthly wages, a job transition support fund of 40 million KRW, and agricultural product gift certificates worth 10 million KRW. For general employees, those born in 1980 and later can apply for voluntary retirement, and those born between 1967 and 1972 can receive 39 months’ worth of average monthly wages and agricultural product gift certificates worth 10 million KRW.

This is a significant improvement compared to last year when general employees only received 20 months’ worth of average monthly wages at the time of retirement. NongHyup Bank received 538 voluntary retirement applications in 2017 and 597 in 2018, but the number dropped to 370 in 2019. The substantial increase in special retirement pay this year is analyzed to have led to a more diverse age distribution among applicants.

In fact, looking at the current voluntary retirement application status across the affiliated organizations, out of 617 employees subject to the wage peak system, 613 submitted retirement applications. However, there were also 196 applicants born in 1964 or earlier who are not subject to the wage peak system. By rank, 121 general employees excluding managerial positions also applied for retirement.

A bank official stated, "The conditions for voluntary and desired retirement will be set differently depending on each bank’s internal situation, but the increase in retirement pay compared to previous years reflects a strong intention to actively accept retirement applications. Banks with reduced net profits this year may not be able to significantly increase retirements due to cost issues, but those with favorable conditions will soon proceed with related labor-management agreements reflecting the current business environment."

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