Despite the Bank of Korea's efforts to improve employee conditions, including salary increases, the trend of voluntary resignations among junior employees remains persistent. While the overall number of retirements has decreased, demand for job changes continues among younger staff.
According to data submitted to lawmaker Ogi-hyung of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of employees with 1-5 years of service who resigned last year totaled 11, marking a 57.1% increase from 2024, which saw 7 resignations.
Resignations among employees in their first five years surged from 10 in 2021 to 19 in 2022, then dropped to 15 in 2023 and 7 in 2024. However, the number rose back into double digits last year, and five employees left the bank in just the first four months of this year. If this trend continues, the number of junior resignations this year is likely to exceed last year's figures.
In contrast, the total number of resignations at the Bank of Korea fell from 160 in 2022 to 89 last year, nearly halving over three years. This decline is believed to be partially influenced by recent efforts to improve employee conditions.
The average salary for non-executive employees rose from 103.3 million won in 2022 to 110.3 million won this year. The starting salary for new hires also increased from 51.8 million won to 58.4 million won during the same period, a rise of approximately 12.7%. Nevertheless, the trend of junior employees leaving the bank has not significantly eased.
Many junior resignations are attributed to job changes. Over the past five years, the proportion of resignations among employees with 1-5 years of service due to job changes has been recorded as follows: 80.0% in 2021, 57.9% in 2022, 33.3% in 2023, 57.1% in 2024, 45.5% in 2025, and 40.0% in the first four months of 2026.
The reasons behind this trend include differences in personnel structures and treatment across job categories. Employees in comprehensive planning roles (G5) are hired based on various fields such as economics, management, law, statistics, and computer science, but most rotate through different departments after joining. This has led to concerns among some employees about the difficulty of accumulating expertise in specific areas over time. Many are considering career paths in the private financial sector or academia, where they can better utilize their expertise.
For general administrative staff (C3), limited opportunities for promotion and conversion to comprehensive roles have contributed to lower job satisfaction. Recently, some C3 employees have reportedly transitioned to national policy banks after passing examinations.
The salary gap with the private financial sector remains a significant concern. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, the average annual salary for employees at the four major commercial banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori) was 122.75 million won last year, exceeding the average salary at the Bank of Korea by about 10 million won. Starting salaries, including various allowances, also reach levels between 60 million and 65 million won.
A Bank of Korea official stated, "Some employees feel that they do not accumulate enough expertise after going through several rotations. There are cases where highly qualified individuals with doctoral degrees change careers to the private financial sector or academia due to a strong desire for expertise, which is regrettable from the organization's perspective." The official added, "Given that the work at the Bank of Korea tends to be more academic in nature, it is not uncommon for employees to transition to similar paths in research or academia after joining. As younger generations increasingly demand expertise, it is time to reconsider the rotational job structure."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.