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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] SEOUL, October 26, 2025 — Despite a surge in financial misconduct cases across South Korea’s major commercial banks, executive bonuses have continued to rise — with some banks paying over ₩300 million (US$220,000) per executive, according to data submitted to the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee.
Rep. Lee Heon-seung of the ruling People Power Party disclosed figures from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) showing that KB Kookmin Bank awarded a total of ₩14.2 billion (US$10.3 million) in executive bonuses last year, averaging ₩315 million per person — the first time in five years that the figure exceeded ₩300 million. This represents a sharp increase from ₩9.1 billion (₩221 million per person) in 2023.
At Hana Bank, executive bonuses totaled approximately ₩8.9 billion, with each executive receiving ₩120 million on average — nearly double the ₩71 million paid the previous year. Meanwhile, overall performance bonuses at Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank reached ₩148 billion and ₩107.7 billion, respectively.
Rep. Lee criticized the discrepancy, noting, “While the number of financial accidents has increased, executive bonuses have also grown.”
According to his office, the four major commercial banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori — reported 74 cases of financial fraud and internal misconduct between January and August 2025, involving a total of ₩197.2 billion (US$143 million) in losses. That marks a 19.4% increase in incidents and a 44.2% rise in damages compared with all of 2024 (62 cases, ₩136.8 billion).
However, between 2016 and 2025, no senior bank executives have faced disciplinary action by the FSS in connection with these incidents.
In response, the financial authorities are reviewing the introduction of a mandatory executive compensation clawback system, which would require banks to reclaim bonuses in cases of significant losses or compliance failures.
At a National Assembly audit session on October 21, FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin stated, “Executives often receive substantial incentives for short-term performance, yet bear no accountability when problems arise. We are working to extend deferral periods for bonuses and introduce post-performance reviews to recover excessive incentives.”
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
