This file photo taken Aug. 22, 2022 shows ATMs of major South Korean banks. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — About 2,200 employees of South Korea’s major commercial banks have left on voluntary retirement since late last year in return for receiving huge severance pay.
According to industry sources, KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank reflected their voluntary retirement expenses in their fourth-quarter results.
These banks provided special severance pay ranging from 340-440 million won (US$267,400-346,000) per worker to those who chose to retire voluntarily.
The special severance pay did not include the amount of statutory severance pay that is calculated by multiplying the average wage for the previous three months by the number of service years.
In sum, the retired bank employees are estimated to have received severance pay of at least 600 million won each.
Against this backdrop, there is criticism that banks’ voluntary retirement programs were transformed into welfare systems in which they give a huge amount of money to their employees, based on the profits they chalked up from ordinary people.
The nation’s major financial holding firms achieved record-breaking results last year, bolstered by the spike in their banks’ interest rate profits.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
