A Big Boom in Financial Sector Employment... Over 2,000 Hires in the Second Half Alone +α

Job seekers participating in the '2022 Financial Sector Joint Recruitment Fair' held on the 24th of last month at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, are attending on-site interviews. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] The second half of the year open recruitment for new employees has begun at the five major banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup Bank) and major financial public institutions. The total recruitment scale in the financial sector, including experienced positions, is expected to exceed 2,000 people.

According to the financial sector on the 19th, Shinhan Bank recently announced a recruitment notice and stated that it will select 400 people through open recruitment for general positions and digital·ICT (Information and Communication Technology) occasional recruitment. Including experienced professionals and retired employee recruitment, the total recruitment scale is 700 people.

Woori Financial Group is also publicly recruiting 360 new employees across its bank, card, capital, and FIS affiliates. This is the largest scale since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. Woori FIS announced its recruitment on the 16th, and Woori Bank plans to start at the end of next month. Including experienced and retired employee rehirings, the recruitment scale is 800 people.

Hana Bank is accepting applications for new employee open recruitment until the 4th of next month. It will recruit double-digit numbers by department. A distinctive feature is that all successful candidates will be offered an overseas training opportunity one year after joining the bank.

Other banks are also expected to proceed with second half recruitment. KB Kookmin Bank President Lee Jae-geun said at the ‘2022 Financial Sector Joint Recruitment Fair’ at the end of last month, “It is not confirmed yet,” but added, “We expect to recruit several hundred people this year.” NH Nonghyup Bank President Kwon Jun-hak also explained, “We are preparing recruitment at the usual level.”

The scale of second half recruitment at major commercial banks this year is expected to increase significantly compared to the past two years when COVID-19 spread. The scale of new employee recruitment in the second half of last year and 2020 at commercial banks was limited to a maximum of 250 people per bank. Some banks only selected double-digit numbers in certain positions or recruited only experienced personnel. As a result, the recruitment scale of the five major banks, which had maintained the 2,000 range, drastically decreased to 936 people last year.

Major financial public institutions have also started open recruitment for new employees in the second half. Typically, job seekers preparing for financial sector employment often prepare for exams at banks and financial-related institutions simultaneously. The Bank of Korea will recruit 72 new employees for comprehensive planning positions (G5), the largest scale in the past 10 years. The Financial Supervisory Service will also recruit 130 new employees in the second half. Including other institutions that have announced recruitment such as the Korea Development Bank (120 people), Korea Technology Finance Corporation (75 people), and Export-Import Bank of Korea (35 people), the total scale is 467 people.