Most Top Earners in First Half of the Year Are Retirees
Strong Banking Sector Performance Drives Record-High Average Salaries
In the first half of this year, the highest earners at major domestic commercial banks were not the incumbent bank presidents, but retirees. In some cases, severance pay alone exceeded 1 billion KRW.
On August 24, the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system published the semi-annual reports for KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori Bank. According to these reports, most of the top five highest-paid individuals at each bank in the first half of this year were retirees.
At Hana Bank, five employees who retired from branch manager positions each received between 1,031 million KRW and 1,122 million KRW. The amounts they received were more than double the 556 million KRW paid to Lee Hosung, the current president of Hana Bank, in the first half of the year. One retiree received 1,060 million KRW solely as severance pay.
At KB Kookmin Bank, retired employees who had worked as investigators and team members also ranked among the top earners. Their compensation ranged from 876 million KRW to 996 million KRW, with the highest severance pay reaching 916 million KRW.
At Shinhan Bank, aside from President Jung Sanghyuk (who received 1,154 million KRW), the other four of the top five highest-paid individuals were all retirees. After stepping down from branch manager positions, they each received just over 900 million KRW, including salary, bonuses, and severance pay.
Similarly, at Woori Bank, all of the top five earners were employees who took voluntary retirement at the deputy general manager level, each receiving between 901 million KRW and 996 million KRW.
This data indicates that exceptionally high severance payments, far above the average, still exist. As of last year, the average voluntary retirement package at the five major domestic banks was around 350 million KRW, and including statutory severance pay, the average payout reportedly exceeded 500 million KRW.
The main reason cited for this increase in compensation is the strong performance of the banking sector. In the first half of this year, the combined net profit of the four major banks reached 8.0967 trillion KRW, up 1.113 trillion KRW from the same period last year. As a result, the average salary for employees in the first half of the year reached a record high of 63.5 million KRW.
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