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 re

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.