South Korean bankers' average H1 salary exceeds Samsung Electronics

The average salary for employees at South Korea’s four major commercial banks—KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori—reached 71.5 million won in the first half of this year. This represents a 12.6% increase from the 63.5 million won recorded during the same period last year, marking the highest growth rate in 13 years. This average exceeds the 63 million won reported by Samsung Electronics, though it remains lower than the 144 million won earned by SK Hynix.

Among the individual banks, Shinhan Bank reported the highest average salary at 75 million won, followed by Woori Bank and Hana Bank at 71 million won each. KB Kookmin Bank reported 69 million won. Within these banks, male employees earned an average of 81 million won, while female employees earned 64 million won.

Employees at the five major financial holding companies—KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup—saw even higher average compensation, reaching 108 million won. This increase is attributed to the centralized nature of holding companies, which typically have fewer employees and a higher proportion of senior executives.

Additionally, reports indicate that some employees receiving voluntary retirement packages received payouts totaling approximately 1 billion won. For instance, Hana Bank paid roughly 1.1 billion won to five retiring managers, while Shinhan, Woori, and KB Kookmin also reported retirement payouts in the 900 million to 1 billion won range.