[Bank Bonus Analysis]②Employee Performance Bonus Soars Over 10 Million Won

The average performance bonus for executives and employees at major commercial banks was found to exceed 10 million KRW.

According to data on the 'Overall Performance Bonuses of Employees at the Five Major Commercial Banks' received by Asia Economy on the 12th through the office of Rep. Choi Seung-jae of the People Power Party from the Financial Supervisory Service, the average performance bonus received by bank employees last year was 23 million KRW at Woori Bank, 19 million KRW at Shinhan Bank, 14 million KRW at Hana Bank, and 9 million KRW at NongHyup Bank. KB Kookmin Bank was excluded as it did not submit data for last year among the five major banks.

The average performance bonus received by employees at Shinhan, Woori, Hana, and NH NongHyup Banks last year was approximately 16.39 million KRW, which is generally more than twice the average performance bonus of large corporations (6.87 million KRW). According to a survey conducted by the career tech platform 'Saramin' on 1,907 office workers regarding 2022 performance bonuses, the average bonus paid was 6.87 million KRW for large corporations and 4.82 million KRW for all office workers.

Looking at the performance bonus status over five years from 2017 to 2021, employees at the five major banks?KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, and NH NongHyup?received an average annual performance bonus of 13.5 million KRW. By year, the amounts were 12.67 million KRW in 2017, 13.82 million KRW in 2018, 13.63 million KRW in 2019, 13.49 million KRW in 2020, and 13.88 million KRW in 2021.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The average annual salary at KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, and Hana Banks also surpassed 100 million KRW for the first time last year. By bank, the average annual salary of KB Kookmin Bank employees last year was 116 million KRW, and Shinhan Bank recorded 113 million KRW. Hana Bank’s average salary was 117 million KRW, the highest among the four major banks. Woori Bank employees’ average salary, which was 97 million KRW in 2021, reached 105 million KRW last year.

However, bank employees are also feeling frustrated amid ongoing public criticism. A representative from a commercial bank said, "Large corporations receive performance bonuses worth tens of millions of KRW without much fuss," adding, "Banks are companies too, and I don’t understand why receiving performance bonuses according to labor-management agreed rules from the profits generated should be something to be self-conscious about."