As staff pursue higher-paying roles in technology, academia and international
finance, voluntary departure applications at the BOK are rising. Park
Seong-hoon, a People Power Party lawmaker, obtained data from the BOK on
Wednesday showing that as of May this year 17 employees had applied to leave
voluntarily for job changes, further study and other reasons. Employees in their
40s accounted for the largest share with six departures, followed by four in
their 30s and one in their 20s. The trend resembled last year, when
professionals in their 40s were also the main voluntary leavers, with 10
departures, exceeding all other age groups. In recent years annual departures
among mid-level staff in their 40s rose from 7 in 2021 to 10 in 2023, fell to 6
in 2024 and then returned to 10 last year. Some observers said large firms such
as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have paid performance bonuses of up to
several hundred million won, which has heightened feelings of relative
deprivation inside the BOK.
