[1mm Financial Talk] Exodus Continues... The Disappearing Title of 'God's Workplace'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

"It has already been several years since the phrase 'God's workplace' disappeared from media reports. As salaries and working conditions have become similar, this expression seems to have naturally faded from people's consciousness."

Recently, there is a growing trend of financial public institutions being regarded as relics of the past in terms of the 'God's workplace' label. In the past, these institutions were called so due to high salaries, job security, and good treatment compared to other companies, but with salaries stagnating for years and headquarters relocations, the once-glorious label is disappearing. Notably, the Korea Housing Finance Corporation, which relocated to Busan, and the Korea Development Bank, whose move to Busan has recently become more concrete, are representative examples.

According to the Korea Development Bank (KDB) labor union on the 15th, excluding employees subject to the wage peak system, 31 employees retired as of April this year. This means about eight people quit every month. Last year, the number of retirees reached 97, which was 2.6 times higher than in 2020 (37 people). The 'talent exodus' phenomenon at KDB is closely related to President Yoon Suk-yeol's pledge to relocate the headquarters to Busan, which began in earnest last year. As the move to Busan became more visible, talents started moving to venture capital (VC) firms and internet-only banks.

Especially since there is no significant advantage in salary compared to other financial companies, the situation has accelerated further. According to the Public Institution Management Information Disclosure System (Alio), the average annual salary per KDB employee last year was 112.89 million KRW, which is lower than KakaoBank (146 million KRW), Hana Bank (118 million KRW), and KB Kookmin Bank (114 million KRW).

In the case of the Korea Housing Finance Corporation, which relocated to Busan before KDB, the average annual salary per employee last year was about 89.33 million KRW, slightly up from 88.28 million KRW in 2021, but lower than 90 million KRW in 2020, maintaining a similar level for several years. The state-run IBK Industrial Bank of Korea is similar. IBK, which operates in areas similar to commercial banks, had a salary increase rate of about 1.4% last year. As a result, employee dissatisfaction is considerable. Early last year, IBK paid 5,000 KRW as a tea expense, which sparked complaints when compared to the performance bonus celebrations at commercial banks.

A similar atmosphere is detected at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), which had been known as the 'grim reaper of Yeouido.' According to the FSS management information disclosure, the average salary of FSS employees last year was 110.06 million KRW, an increase of 4.68 million KRW compared to 2018 (105.38 million KRW). The FSS budget for this year also estimates the average employee salary at 103.28 million KRW, suggesting that even including performance bonuses, the salary level will remain similar to last year. Although the FSS is not designated as a public institution, it follows comparable wage regulations, so salary increases are almost stagnant compared to financial companies. A financial industry insider said, "More employees are leaving the FSS considering salaries than in the past," reflecting the current mood.

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