Major South Korean Banks' Employee Salaries Surpass Samsung Electronics Average

Employees at South Korea's four major commercial banks earned an average of 71.5 million won (approximately $60,000 USD) in the first half of 2026, a figure that now exceeds the average salary of employees at tech giant Samsung Electronics.

The average salary for bank employees saw a significant increase of about 13% compared to the same period last year. This rise brings the average bank worker's compensation above that of Samsung Electronics employees, who reported an average salary of 63 million won in the first half of the year. While this figure is lower than that of SK Hynix employees (144 million won), SK Hynix's higher average is partly attributed to the appreciation of company stock distributed to its workforce.

Among the four major banks, Shinhan Bank reported the highest average employee salary at 75 million won. Hana and Woori banks followed with 71 million won each, and KB Kookmin Bank recorded an average of 69 million won. Shinhan Bank also saw the highest salary increase rate at 21%, followed by Woori Bank (14.5%), KB Kookmin Bank (11.3%), and Hana Bank (4.4%).

Adding to the high compensation figures, employees at the top five financial holding companies, which encompass the four commercial banks plus NH NongHyup, earned an average of 100.8 million won in the first half of 2026. This represents a roughly 6.8% increase from the previous year and marks the first time the average salary for these holding company employees has surpassed 100 million won since the re-establishment of Woori Financial Group in 2019. The higher compensation at the holding company level is attributed to the nature of their work, which involves overseeing financial affiliates, and a smaller employee base often including more senior executives.