“What Will Happen to Liberal-Arts Students?” AI Makes Bank Jobs Even Harder to Get

[Financial News] As artificial intelligence (AI) and non-face-to-face banking continue to spread, the number of bank branches and employees is declining, making it increasingly difficult for new graduates to land jobs at banks. Since banks have traditionally been major employers of business, economics, humanities, and social-science graduates, liberal-arts graduates are seeing their options shrink.
According to financial-sector data on the 2nd, the average salary per employee at the four major banks—KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Bank of Hope, and Woori Bank—was 71.5 million won in the first half of this year, up 8 million won, or 12.6%, from 63.5 million won during the same period last year. That was 8.5 million won higher than Samsung Electronics’ average salary of 63 million won in the first half. This is why banks are considered attractive employers for so-called “liberal-arts students.”
The problem is that hiring has been declining despite the higher compensation. The four major banks hired 1,880 people in 2023, 1,380 in 2024, and 1,280 last year. That represents a decrease of 600 people, or 31.9%, in two years. They hired about 540 people in the first half of this year, down by 55, or 9.2%, from 595 during the same period last year.
Banks are also recruiting in the second half of this year, but the overall hiring volume is expected to decline.
Woori Bank hired 195 people in the second half of last year, but plans to recruit only a two-digit number of employees this year without disclosing a specific figure. KB Kookmin Bank will hire 180 people in the second half of this year, the same number as last year. Shinhan Bank plans to post a recruitment notice this month, but has not finalized the number of hires. Bank of Hope is also reviewing the schedule and headcount internally. Nonghyup Bank did not recruit in the first half of this year, so hiring is expected to be concentrated in the second half. However, given the ongoing reduction in branches and staff, observers say the number of hires could fall below previous years’ levels.
A banking-industry official said, “Organizations are becoming ‘leaner’ as banks reduce the number of offline branches and carry out voluntary retirement programs. It is true that demand for tellers and general administrative staff has declined as mobile deposits and loan services have become commonplace and AI has begun replacing some tasks.”
In fact, the expansion of non-face-to-face transactions and digital counters has reduced the number of bank employees needed at branches. As AI takes over repetitive tasks such as data collection and analysis, there are also fewer duties requiring human involvement.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the four major banks had 54,210 employees at the end of last year, down by 1,021 from the end of the previous year. During the same period, the number of domestic branches operated by the four banks fell by 94, from 2,779 to 2,685.
As a result, recruitment is being reorganized from large-scale general hiring toward a focus on specialized personnel. Banks are increasingly recruiting experienced or off-cycle hires with expertise in specific fields such as AI, data, information technology (IT), security, and corporate banking.
A banking-industry official said, “General banking recruitment is still continuing, but as the total number of hires declines and the capabilities required for each position become more specialized, employment opportunities that applicants could pursue regardless of their major appear to be shrinking.”
[email protected] Byung-jung Ye Reporter