Financial firms' office buildings are seen in the nation's financial district of Yeouido in Seoul in this file photo. Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

Securities firms are accepting voluntary retirements amid unexpected earnings falls and growing market uncertainties triggered by post-pandemic liquidity woes and bearish stock market conditions.

Among major brokerage houses, KB Securities was the first to receive voluntary retirement applications targeting employees aged over 40. The last time the brokerage accepted voluntary retirements was in 2020.

According to the firm, those who apply for the retirement can receive up to 34 months' salary in line with their age.

The company explained its management and union reached an agreement on the retirement plan.

"Both sides agreed on the voluntary retirement plan and this was part of KB's efforts to improve its manpower structure and help support employees' stable retirement plans," a spokesman at the company said.

Other top-tier securities firms have yet to confirm whether to implement voluntary retirements this year, but some mid- to- small-sized ones already decided to do so, as part of a preemptive move to brace for murky stock market forecasts that are widely expected to persist at least for the next few months.

Hi Investment & Securities, DGB Financial Group's securities arm, finished receiving voluntary retirement applications for four days from Dec. 5. Those aged over 56 were able to apply for voluntary retirement. Employees who have worked for the firm for more than 20 years or those whose job title is head of department with more than 18 years of experience at the company were also qualified for the voluntary retirement. The brokerage house will offer up to 36 months' salary for each employee who applied for retirement. Aside from severance pay, they will also receive additional financial benefits of up to 50 million won in what is called a "livelihood stabilization payment."

Daol Investment & Securities also received applications for voluntary retirement until Nov. 28 and finished screening those who qualified for the package.

Cape Investment & Securities, another mid-tier brokerage house, downsized its workforce by closing down its corporate sales department and research business unit early last month. A group of around 30 employees who worked for the units voluntarily retired.

The decisions came amid lingering fears of securities firms' exposure to real estate project financing triggered by a Legoland developer's default on debt payments in Gangwon Province. The U.S. Federal Reserve's consecutive set of aggressive rate hikes for the past few months also ended up freezing investor sentiment in the local stock market, driving down the main bourse to a pre-pandemic level.

"Even if big securities firms have resilience to overcome the bearish market sentiment, this may not be the case for mid- to small-sized ones," an industry source said. "They will have to realign their organizational structure in a more agile manner, as the market outlook remains cloudy until the first half of next year."