Kookmin Bank carries out voluntary retirement program

South Korea’s major commercial lender Kookmin Bank said Friday a total of 2,800 employees applied for the company’s voluntary retirement program.

Those who worked for the bank for more than 10 years were eligible for the program and the company received applications from Monday to Thursday.

The number is the largest since 2010 when 3,244 employees left the bank under a similar voluntary retirement program.

If applications are all received, the total workforce at Kookmin Bank will be reduced to about 17,000 from the current 20,000.

The voluntary retirement program offers up to 36 months of wages depending on their rank and labor contract.

Those who applied for the program will work until Jan. 20, the bank said.

Last year, 1,100 employees retired from the bank under the voluntary program.

(yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)