According to a Financial News report released on May 26, as brand competition between commercial banks becomes increasingly fierce, advertising fees of top Korean stars have also skyrocketed.
Analysis shows that the total annual advertising costs of the 5 largest commercial banks in South Korea last year for the first time exceeded the 800 billion won mark.
KB Financial Group (KB Kookmin Bank) continues to cooperate with "ice skating queen" Kim Yuna and actress Park Eun Bin.
Industry insiders estimate that Kim Yuna receives more than 1 billion won for each advertising appearance, while Park Eun Bin is said to earn at least 700 million won per year from advertising contracts.
The rookie girl group Hearts2Hearts is also valued at over 350 million won per year in the advertising market.
KB Kookmin Bank recently also chose director Jang Hang Jun and screenwriter Kim Eun Hee as new advertising faces.
At NH Nonghyup bank, actor Byeon Woo Seok is said to have witnessed a sharp increase in advertising fees after the success of recent film projects, currently estimated to exceed 1 billion won in advertising revenue each year.
Actor Park Ji Hoon is also said to have strongly increased advertising value after the success of the works "The king's warden" and "The legend of kitchen soldier". In addition, entertainment artist Kian84 also joined this bank as a new advertising model.
Among the major banks, Hana Bank is said to have spent the most money on advertising last year, investing about 177.6 billion won.
Hana currently owns a team of prominent ambassadors including football star Son Heung Min, An Yujin (IVE), singer Lim Young Woong, entertainment artist Kang Ho Dong and G-Dragon (Big Bang).
Industry experts estimate that G-Dragon's annual advertising fee alone is about 3 billion won, making him one of the highest-paid advertising models in Korea in the banking sector.
An Yujin is also said to receive about 700 million won per year from advertising contracts.
According to reports, Woori Bank invested about 167.3 billion won in advertising last year. Woori Financial Group is currently cooperating with singer IU, while Woori Bank uses Jang Won Young (IVE) as a private model.
Meanwhile, Shinhan Bank spent about 157.6 billion won on advertising in 2025 and is currently cooperating with actor Park Bo Gum - who has an estimated advertising fee of about 1.2 billion won per year.
Bank Nonghyup's advertising expenses last year were also recorded at around 145.8 billion won.
