The ‘Dream Job’ Door Narrows as Major Banks Cut Graduate Hiring by 16%

The door to South Korea's coveted banking jobs is getting narrower. Major commercial banks cut new graduate recruitment by about 16% in the first half of the year, adding pressure to an already competitive job market.

Shin Hye-jin, a 26-year-old university student, had hoped to join the banking sector because of its high salaries and benefits. After failing several recent applications, she said she had even delayed graduation and was now considering changing career paths because hiring opportunities had shrunk.

The five major banks, KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, hired 645 new employees in the first half of the year, according to the financial sector. That was about 16% below the figure from the same period a year earlier.

Woori Bank made the sharpest cut, reducing its intake from 190 last year to 95 this year, effectively halving recruitment. Shinhan Bank cut its intake by 10 people, while the article also reports a five-person reduction at Hana Bank. The article begins to discuss NH NongHyup Bank's figures but the supplied text ends before that information is provided.

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I postponed graduation, but as the hiring door has narrowed, I am considering whether to change my career path.