Banks recorded their largest ever profits last year, but the size of new employee hiring has decreased. There are concerns that this may indicate neglect of their social responsibility in 'job creation.'
According to data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 6th from the office of Kim Hyun-jeong, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of regular public hires last year for Shinhan, Woori, and Hana banks among the top five commercial banks decreased compared to the previous year.
Shinhan Bank reduced its hiring from 137 in 2023 to 102 in 2024. During the same period, Woori Bank cut its numbers from 500 to 382, while Hana Bank decreased from 441 to 384. This is even less than the number of new hires the banks initially planned. Shinhan Bank intended to hire 150 last year, Woori Bank aimed for 390, and Hana Bank planned for 400.
Kookmin Bank maintained a nearly similar level with 254 hires in 2023 and 260 in 2024, while NongHyup Bank significantly increased its hiring from 480 in 2023 to 1,260 in 2024. NongHyup Bank reportedly advanced its recruitment for the first half of this year, following large-scale hiring last year.
Internet-specialized banks did not conduct regular hiring for new employees but only recruited experienced staff. KakaoBank did not hire any new employees from 2020 to 2024. During this period, Toss Bank hired one new employee each in 2023 and 2024. Kbank hired 26 in 2022 and 18 in 2023, but reduced the number to 8 in 2024. Last year, KakaoBank hired 264, Kbank hired 104, and Toss Bank hired 226 experienced employees. A KakaoBank official noted, 'In the past four years, we have hired 73 interns who were converted to full-time positions through ongoing recruitment.'
Meanwhile, the total net profit of the top five banks last year was about 15.15 trillion won, marking the highest ever. This is a 7.5% increase compared to the previous year.