[Exclusive] "Despite Calling for Digital Innovation, Commercial Banks Have Only 6.5% IT Staff"

Overview of Workforce Status at 4 Major Commercial Banks
KB Kookmin 9%... Hana 4% Shows the Lowest Rate

The proportion of IT personnel at the four major commercial banks was found to be less than 10% of their total employees. Since the IT and information security sectors are directly linked to technological capabilities, experts point out that the number of personnel is still insufficient for banks to achieve digital innovation.

According to data on the "Status of IT Personnel by Domestic Banks" (as of December 2021) obtained by Asia Economy on the 17th through the office of Kang Min-guk, a member of the People Power Party, from the Financial Supervisory Service, the average proportion of IT personnel to total employees at KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, and Hana Banks was only 6.5%.

Looking at each bank, Kookmin Bank had 1,472 IT personnel out of 17,017 total employees, accounting for 9%. Among them, 1,387 were information technology personnel, and 85 were information security personnel. Shinhan Bank had 953 IT personnel (885 information technology and 68 information security) out of 13,644 employees, about 7%. Woori Bank had 846 IT personnel out of 13,518 employees, with 768 in information technology and 78 in information security. Hana Bank had the lowest proportion among the four major banks at about 4%. Out of 11,671 employees, 419 were information technology personnel and 24 were information security personnel. However, including related outsourced personnel, the total reached 868, about 7%.

In contrast, the three internet-only banks had an average IT personnel ratio close to half, at 48%. Toss Bank had 159 IT personnel out of 226 employees, accounting for 70%. Among them, 146 were information technology personnel and 13 were information security personnel. Kakao Bank had 453 IT personnel (403 information technology and 50 information security) out of 1,082 employees, about 42%. K Bank had 140 IT personnel out of 424 employees, accounting for 33%.

While commercial banks operate offline branches, making direct comparisons with internet-only banks somewhat uneven, the results are disappointing considering that securing digital capabilities has recently been set as a top priority. Compared to January 2021, the increase in personnel was minimal. Kookmin Bank's IT personnel ratio rose from 8% to 9%, while Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank remained at 7% and 4%, respectively. Woori Bank's IT personnel ratio dropped from 7% at the beginning of the year to 6% by the end. Of course, banks have their reasons. Although they continue to maintain a policy of securing IT talent for digital transformation, skilled developers tend to prefer IT companies such as game companies over banks.

Kang Min-guk, Member of the People Power Party

However, experts warn that if this shortage of IT personnel continues amid the expansion of non-face-to-face transactions, there is a high possibility of problems arising in services such as security. In fact, Shinhan Bank experienced two system errors this month alone, causing inconvenience to users. Representative Kang pointed out, "If IT personnel are not sufficiently secured, responses to new security risks such as the expansion of non-face-to-face transactions and digitalization of the financial industry will be inadequate, and it is expected to be difficult to respond quickly to prevent the spread of consumer damage in the event of security incidents such as information leakage."