'Sacred Job' Bankers' Average Salary Up Ninefold... 'Salary King' Who Received 1.1 Billion KRW Is a Retiree

"10 Million Won Monthly Salary" Era for Bank Employees

A Combination of Expanded Voluntary Retirement and Reduced New Hiring

Retirees Outearn Sitting Bank Presidents in Some Cases

The average annual salary of employees at major domestic commercial banks has surpassed 120 million KRW, ushering in the era of "10 million won monthly salaries." This steady rise in compensation is attributed to improved earnings and changes in workforce structure.

According to the 2025 business reports disclosed by the four major commercial banks—KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, and Woori Bank—on March 22, the average annual salary for employees at these banks was calculated at 122.75 million KRW. This figure represents an increase of 4.75 million KRW (4.03%) from the previous year’s 118 million KRW. When broken down monthly, this amounts to approximately 10 million KRW.

By bank, while there used to be disparities in salary levels, recent trends show that the pay gap among banks has largely evened out. KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Hana Bank each recorded similar average salaries of 123 million KRW, while Woori Bank followed closely at 122 million KRW. Notably, Woori Bank’s figure increased by 8 million KRW compared to the previous year, marking the largest year-on-year rise among the four banks.

The average annual salary of employees at major domestic commercial banks has exceeded 120 million won. Photo by Yonhap News

This increase in average salary is largely attributed to a reduction in workforce. Over the past year, the number of employees at the four major banks decreased by more than 1,000, and the number of voluntary retirements exceeded 2,000. On the other hand, new hires have continued to decline, leading to changes in workforce structure. Due to the organizational characteristic of long-term employment, the average length of service has surpassed 15 years, which naturally leads to higher wages.

Improved business performance has also played a role. Last year, the combined net profit of the four major banks reached approximately 13.9 trillion KRW, an increase of over 7% compared to the previous year. The main factors cited were the expansion of interest income and a significant rise in non-interest income from foreign exchange and derivatives.

One notable point is that the title of "salary king" went to retirees rather than current executives. Among the top five highest-paid individuals at each bank, many were retirees, some of whom received total compensation—including severance pay and bonuses—ranging from 1 billion to 1.1 billion KRW. In some cases, these amounts exceeded the annual salaries of bank presidents.

When extending the scope to financial holding companies, the average annual salary is even higher. The average annual salary for employees at the four major financial holding companies was 181 million KRW, about 60 million KRW higher than that of the banks themselves. This is attributed to differences in position level and length of service.

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