"After Watching Mr. Kim, I Decided Never to Quit"... Early Retirement Applications Slow Down Despite 400 Million Won Severance Pay

[Financial News] By the third quarter of this year, domestic banks posted a record net profit of over 21 trillion won, yet early retirement programs continue in the banking sector. However, with discussions on extending the retirement age gaining momentum, the number of applicants for voluntary retirement appears to be lower than in previous years.

According to the financial sector on the 24th, NongHyup Bank (NH Bank) accepted applications for voluntary retirement until the 21st.
Eligible employees were general staff over the age of 40 with at least 10 years of service. Among the applicants, those aged 56 (born in 1969) received severance pay equivalent to 28 months of their average monthly salary upon retirement, while other general staff over 40 with more than 10 years of service were paid 20 months’ worth.
Suhyup Bank accepted voluntary retirement applications until the 17th.
For those at grade 1 or above, employees with at least 18 years of service were eligible, while for grade 2 or below, the requirement was at least 15 years.
Special severance pay for those born in 1969 amounted to 85% of the total personnel cost under the wage peak system (equivalent to 28 months of average monthly salary). For those born in 1970, the maximum was 34 months, and for those born in 1971, up to 37 months. Other employees received special severance pay equivalent to 20 months of their average monthly salary.
Other major commercial banks such as KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, and Woori Bank are also expected to accept voluntary retirement applications through labor-management negotiations.

Banks pay special severance packages worth hundreds of millions of won annually to those who opt for early retirement.
By bank, the average severance pay per person for voluntary retirement was reported as follows: Hana Bank (370.11 million won), KB Kookmin Bank (370 million won), Woori Bank (349.18 million won), NH Bank (322.4 million won), and Shinhan Bank (312.86 million won).
In particular, there was an employee at Hana Bank who received a severance package exceeding 1 billion won.
According to Hana Bank’s semi-annual report for the first half of this year, a manager-level employee who took voluntary retirement received a total of 1.06 billion won, combining statutory severance pay and special retirement benefits.
However, with recent political discussions on extending the statutory retirement age from 60 to 65, there are expectations that voluntary retirement applications will slow down.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Soo-yeon Reporter