IBK to double recruitment this year: CEO Kwon

The Industrial Bank of Korea will double its number of new recruits this year, in an effort to support the government’s plan to reduce a record-high unemployment rate, bank officials said Tuesday.

The state-run bank’s move is in stark contrast with other local banks seeking to maintain the status quo in their human resources or to further reduce employment due to impending restructuring and rising personnel expenses.

“We plan to recruit 400 or more new employees this year, a visible increase from the 220 last year,” said CEO Kwon Seon-joo on Tuesday.

The bank would usually made recruitment decisions based on its manpower supply and demand plan, but it decided to take into consideration the harsh employment reality faced by the young generation these days, she explained.

“The top priority task for our economy is to create jobs, and to (achieve) this, we hope to be of help by any means.”

IBK’s recruitment rate compared to the size of its workforce far exceeds that of larger-sized banks such as KB Kookmin Bank and Woori Bank.

KB Kookmin Bank, whose employees totaled 22,000 at the end of December, hired 290 new employees last year.

“IBK has relatively high productivity, thanks to its low personnel costs and low supply of manpower compared to its work scope,” Kwon said.

IBK’s personnel expenses amounted to 17.7 percent of total profit last year, whereas the figures for KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank were 32.1 percent, 25.5 percent and 24.8 percent, respectively, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

Also, IBK is one of the few major banks which do not need major restructuring this year.

KB Kookmin Bank underwent a major executive reshuffle, reflecting KB Financial Group chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo’s decision that the group and the flagship bank should be operated under a single control tower.

Hana Bank, which faces an imminent merger with Korea Exchange Bank, is still struggling to wrap up negotiations with the KEB labor union.

Woori Bank, which failed to find itself a new owner, is not expected to expand this year.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)