South Korea's four largest banks hired 510 entry-level employees in the first half of 2024, down 14.3 percent from a year earlier, as financial institutions expand AI use and close physical branches. The shrinking pipeline makes an already competitive job market harder for young people seeking stable, well-paying careers in finance.
Woori Bank began accepting applications for its second-half recruitment on July 31, with a deadline of Aug. 8. The bank has not disclosed a target number, but industry officials expect fewer than 100 hires, a sharp drop from the 190 it brought on in the same period last year.
KB Kookmin Bank is accepting applications for about 160 entry-level positions through Sept. 9. Industrial Bank of Korea plans to hire 175 new employees, with applications open through Sept. 14. Other major banks have yet to announce plans, but officials said overall numbers are unlikely to rise.
The numbers behind the decline
The four major banks - KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori - hired a combined 510 new employees in the first half of 2024. Annual recruitment across these institutions fell from 1,320 in 2022 to 1,170 in 2023. The trend is accelerating rather than leveling off.
Industry officials attribute the decline to a broader workforce strategy. Banks are prioritizing leaner organizations and higher productivity over headcount growth. Financial groups have expanded AI operations into functions ranging from business planning to credit assessments.
"Banks used to hire large numbers of entry-level employees and focus on placing them in branches. But as the shift toward AI accelerates and mobile banking becomes more widespread, companies are increasingly looking for people with specialized skills in digital fields," a banking industry official said.
Branch closures compound the shift
The hiring slowdown tracks with a steady reduction in physical locations. According to the Korea Federation of Banks, the four major banks operated 2,696 branches nationwide as of the second quarter of 2024, down from 2,868 a year earlier. More customers are choosing non-face-to-face services, reducing the need for branch staff.
For finance professionals watching these changes, the direction is clear: technical and digital skills are becoming prerequisites for roles that once required generalist backgrounds. Resources like AI for Finance training have grown more relevant as banks embed AI into credit assessment, planning and customer operations. Senior finance leaders face similar pressures, with AI for CFOs becoming a practical concern for those managing leaner teams and automated workflows.
High demand, fewer openings
Banks remain among the most sought-after employers in Korea, valued for stability and relatively high pay. A June survey of 1,811 college students by recruitment platform Incruit found that 34.5 percent chose banks as their preferred type of financial institution. Toss Bank ranked first, followed by KB Kookmin Bank, KakaoBank and Shinhan Bank.
The gap between applicant interest and available positions is widening. Fewer entry-level roles mean more competition for each opening, even as banks look for candidates with specialized digital skills that traditional finance curricula often do not cover.
Why this matters for finance professionals
If you work in finance, the hiring data signals where the industry is heading. Entry-level generalist roles are shrinking, while demand for digital and AI-related skills is growing. Building competency in AI applications for banking - whether in credit analysis, risk assessment or process automation - is no longer optional for career mobility. The banks are hiring fewer people, but they are hiring for different skills than they did five years ago.
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