Shinhan Bank Raises Jeokgeum Rates on 17 Savings Products in Korea Deposit Push

On Friday, August 21, 2026, Shinhan Bank raised interest rates on 30 deposit products, including 17 installment savings accounts known in Korea as jeokgeum (적금). The move came as major Korean lenders stepped up a deposit-rate competition to attract household savings after the Bank of Korea lifted its policy rate in July.

Shinhan adjusted rates on 13 time-deposit products and the 17 jeokgeum lines in parallel, with increases ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 percentage points depending on product and maturity. A bank official said the changes reflect market-rate shifts following the central bank’s July decision.

Editor’s note: This article draws on Yonhap News Agency, Maeil Business (MK), Asia Business Daily, Chosun Ilbo, and Kyungje Ilbo reporting from July–August 2026. Product rates and sales limits may change after publication.

What changed on August 21

Shinhan’s rate reset unfolded in two steps on and after August 21:

Timing	Products	Rate change
From Aug. 21	Sol 편한 정기예금 (Sol Convenient Time Deposit), 1-year maturity	2.9% → 3.2% per year
From Aug. 22	13 time-deposit products, including Shinhan S-Dream	+0.2 to +0.4 percentage points
From Aug. 22	17 jeokgeum (installment savings) products, including Shinhan S-Dream Jeokgeum	+0.1 to +0.3 percentage points

For a widely cited benchmark, the one-year Shinhan S-Dream jeokgeum base rate moved from 2.00% to 2.25% per year. The one-year Shinhan S-Dream time deposit rose from 2.05% to 2.30%.

The Sol Convenient product is Shinhan’s flagship online-only time deposit; its same-day increase to 3.2% was among the first visible changes for mobile-banking customers.

Why banks are raising jeokgeum and deposit rates

The adjustments trace to the Bank of Korea’s monetary policy board meeting on July 16, 2026, when policymakers raised the seven-day base rate from 2.50% to 2.75% — a 0.25 percentage-point increase and the first hike since January 2023.

Commercial banks typically pass higher funding costs through to deposit rates so they can keep attracting household savings. Woori Bank moved first among peers, lifting major time-deposit and jeokgeum rates by up to 0.30 percentage points from July 20. Shinhan’s August 21 package extended the same pattern across a broader set of standard products.

Shinhan is also running limited-time promotional deposits separate from the base-rate pass-through:

Product	Target	Top rate (approx.)	Notes
Shinhan My Plus time deposit	General (44th-anniversary special)	Up to 3.3%	1 trillion won sales cap through month-end
Shinhan SOL Mate time deposit	Ages 50+ and sole proprietors	Up to 3.4%	300 billion won cap through Aug. 23
Shinhan Jeokgeum 9-dan	First-time Shinhan savers, card users	Up to 9.0%	Launched Aug. 14; 200,000-account cap through Sept. 30

The 9-dan jeokgeum is a one-year flexible installment account with a 3.0% base rate plus up to 6.0 percentage points in preferential tiers for customers who had no Shinhan deposit or jeokgeum products in the prior six months and meet Shinhan Card usage conditions. It sits alongside — not instead of — the routine rate increases on Shinhan’s established jeokgeum lineup.

Money flowing back into bank deposits

Higher advertised yields are already shifting where Koreans park cash. Financial-sector data cited in Korean media show that as of August 15, the five major commercial banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH NongHyup — held about 965.3 trillion won in time deposits, up roughly 15.9 trillion won from the end of June.

At the same time, balances in MMDAs and similar short-term savings accounts fell by about 17.8 trillion won over the same period — one of the largest outflows on record in that category. Analysts describe the pattern as a “reverse money move”: funds that had chased stock-market returns are rotating back toward guaranteed deposit income as bank rates climb into the low 3% range and promotional jeokgeum offers advertise far higher headline figures.

Volatility in domestic equities has reinforced that shift. Seoul Economic Daily and other outlets reported that banks rolled out high-yield savings in part because savers wanted safer ways to build lump sums without relying on equity swings.

What savers should check before opening a jeokgeum

Not every Shinhan jeokgeum pays the same rate, and promotional products carry conditions that standard accounts do not:

• Base-rate products (such as Shinhan S-Dream jeokgeum) apply the August increases automatically to new and existing terms according to each product’s rules.
• Promotional jeokgeum (such as the 9-dan account) may require no prior Shinhan deposit relationship, Shinhan Card spending history, and a maximum monthly contribution (typically 300,000 won, about $212).
• Sales caps can close a product early even before the published end date.
• Preferential tiers often expire on fixed calendar deadlines — for example, the full 9% tier on the 9-dan product required opening with a 300,000-won deposit by August 31 for eligible new customers.

Customers can compare current rates through Shinhan branches or the Shinhan Super SOL mobile app before committing to a maturity and monthly payment schedule.

Industry outlook

Korean media reported in late July and August that KB Kookmin, Hana, and NH NongHyup were reviewing or implementing their own deposit-rate increases, with several one-year time deposits moving into the 3.2–3.25% band. The competitive dynamic suggests further tweaks are possible if the Bank of Korea keeps policy tight or market funding costs keep rising.

For households, the practical question is no longer whether banks will pay more on jeokgeum — many already are — but which product’s conditions match their savings habit, and whether headline promotional rates justify switching banks or opening a first account.

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Discussion

Higher jeokgeum rates reward patience, but the fine print on promotional tiers can be as important as the percentage on a banner ad.

1. Would you move savings back from stocks or short-term funds into a bank jeokgeum at roughly 3% base rates — or only chase limited 9% promotional accounts?

The trade-off is guaranteed yield versus eligibility rules, caps, and lock-in periods.

2. If you already hold a Shinhan jeokgeum, does a 0.1–0.3 percentage-point increase change how much you deposit each month?

Or do special-offer products aimed at new customers feel like a bigger story than routine rate pass-through?

If you have compared Korean bank savings products recently, what mattered most — the advertised top rate, the base rate, or how easy it was to manage deposits on mobile?

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