Korea's unionized financial workers urged the parliament Tuesday to begin an investigation into allegations that local banks and brokerage houses rigged interest rates on certificates of deposit (CDs).
The Fair Trade Commission, the nation's antitrust watchdog, is looking into suspected collusion among financial companies to fix interest rates on CDs, which serve as the benchmark rate for their lending.
"The National Assembly should immediately investigate the case, and those responsible must be brought to justice," said Kim Moon-ho, head of the Korea Financial Industry Union, at a news conference ahead of the union's one-day strike next week.
The umbrella labor union with a membership of around 100,000 plans to walk away from the job on Monday to protest a government plan to privatize Woori Finance Holdings Co., South Korea's top financial services company by assets, and other issues.
Kim stressed that the authorities concerned should reform the current CD rate-setting system, in which banks can exert great influence.
He also said top financial figures including Kim Seok-dong, head of the Financial Services Commission, and the chairmen of six major financial holding should testify before lawmakers about the suspicions.
The watchdog's probe follows similar investigations underway in the United States and Britain into banks, including Barclays, for their alleged involvement in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate or Libor, a benchmark interest rate in the global financial market. (Yonhap)