Internet Banks as 'Talent Blackholes'... Big Tech Also Raised Salaries

Domestic IT and Game Industry Competition for Recruiting Developers Intensifies

Coupang Opens Recruitment War
Starting Salary for New Developers 60 Million KRW
Game Industry Netmarble and Nexon Raise New Employee Starting Salary by 8 Million KRW
NC Expected to Increase Salaries Ahead of Wage Setting
Naver and Kakao Also Join
Raising Salaries and Offering Long-Service Leave


Fintech Firms Leading with Exceptional Benefits
Toss Offers 1.5 Times Previous Salary
Stock Options Worth 100 Million KRW Provided

[Asia Economy reporters Kiho Sung, Nahum Kang, Aeri Boo] The competition to attract development talent is heating up further, centered around the domestic IT, gaming, and financial industries. These sectors, which posted solid profits last year amid COVID-19, are aggressively offering exceptional salaries to secure developers.

Salary Increases Spread from Coupang

The first to open fire in the talent acquisition competition through salary increases was Coupang. According to industry sources on the 16th, Coupang offered new developers a top annual salary of 60 million KRW last year and decided to provide a 50 million KRW signing bonus for publicly recruiting developers with over five years of experience. This is seen as a desperate measure to secure developers and simultaneously prevent existing employees from leaving. This stems from the chronic shortage of developers. According to a survey by the Ministry of Science and ICT, 47.9% of software companies cited 'lack of personnel with necessary skills' as the top difficulty in hiring. 'Lack of applicants' also accounted for 19.5%.

The 'salary increase' initiative launched by Coupang has extended into the gaming industry. Since securing excellent development talent is directly linked to a company's competitiveness, game companies are announcing dramatic salary hikes or launching large-scale public recruitment. Especially among the major domestic game companies known as the 3N (Nexon, NCSoft, Netmarble), the competition for talent is fierce.

Netmarble will raise employee salaries by 8 million KRW starting next month. For new hires, the starting salary is 50 million KRW for development roles and 45 million KRW for non-development roles. Nexon also raised the starting salary for new employees by 8 million KRW on the 1st of this month, setting it at 50 million KRW for development roles and 45 million KRW for non-development roles. Considering that the Ministry of Employment and Labor reported an average annual salary of 33.47 million KRW last year for large companies with over 500 employees, the salaries at Netmarble and Nexon are regarded as the highest among domestic companies.

Nexon will also pay performance bonuses to employees next month. Although the amount is undisclosed, it is reported to be higher than last year. The company plans to maximize motivation by awarding top-level performance bonuses to organizations and individuals who achieve significant results. To accelerate talent acquisition, Nexon will resume public recruitment, which had been suspended since 2018, within the first half of the year. This will involve hundreds of hires, including subsidiaries. A Nexon representative said, "This salary increase will greatly help in attracting talent."

As Nexon and Netmarble consecutively raise salaries dramatically, NCSoft, which sets new salary plans annually around March to April, is also compelled to increase salaries. Given the frequent job changes in the gaming industry, falling behind in salary competition increases the risk of talent outflow. Currently, NCSoft's starting salary for developers is in the mid-40 million KRW range. Especially this year, NCSoft is expected to raise salaries as it achieved record-breaking performance, joining the '2 trillion KRW club' for the first time.

Big Tech and Financial Sectors Join In

The competition to attract talent is no exception among big tech companies like Naver and Kakao. Naver Financial has raised the starting salary for developers to 50 million KRW. Compensation is based on performance and capability regardless of age or years of experience. Recently, they have also started recruiting for development positions that accept applicants with just one day of experience. Kakao Bank and Kakao Pay offer one month of paid leave and 2 million KRW in vacation expenses after three years of continuous service. They also operate a 'flexible work system' that allows flexible working hours as a standard.

Internet banks and fintech companies, which have become talent black holes, are aggressively competing with exceptional benefits. Especially Viva Republica, which operates Toss, offers dramatic hiring benefits considering its status as a latecomer in the internet banking sector. Toss, which announced hiring 300 people in the first quarter of this year, offers 1.5 times the salary of the previous job and stock options worth 100 million KRW. New hires can choose between up to 1.5 times their previous salary, a signing bonus, or stock options (stock purchase rights) worth 100 million KRW. Performance bonuses are paid twice a year separately. Even new members without prior experience are guaranteed industry-leading treatment.

Major startups have also joined the competition to attract talent. Hyperconnect, which made a huge hit by being sold to the US-based Match Group for about 2 trillion KRW, recently launched large-scale recruitment of experienced professionals. Hyperconnect is actively recruiting talent by offering a 'talent referral reward' of 1 million KRW. Through talent acquisition, Hyperconnect is accelerating not only its flagship service 'Azar' but also its expansion into new business areas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.