KB union protests budget phone business

BTS promotes KB Kookmin Bank's Liiv M budget phone service in this ad. / Courtesy of KB Kookmin Bank

By Park Jae-hyuk

KB Kookmin Bank is facing backlash from its union for its recent attempt to enable customers to sign up for the Liiv M budget phone service at its bank counters, according to industry sources, Sunday.

Since the lender launched the service late last year, those who wanted to sign up for the service have had to visit the Liiv M official website.

Although the management, in its defense, has emphasized the necessity of face-to-face subscriptions for customers unfamiliar with digital devices, the union has claimed this will result in excessive labor for employees.

Against this backdrop, the union has urged the financial authorities to regulate the bank, staging demonstrations at the office of the bank's digital business division, and in front of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the Financial Supervisory Service and the house of the bank executive who directs the budget phone business.

The union has alleged bank executive Yang Won-yong has forced them to sell budget phones, regardless of the FSC's advice.

“The FSC allowed the bank's budget phone business on condition that the telecommunication business does not disrupt the bank's main business,” a KB Kookmin Bank union official said.

In April 2019, the financial regulator designated Liiv M as an innovative financial service which can be exempt from several regulations, because the service allows the bank to offer personalized financial services to its customers, based on data accumulated through budget phone sales.

Following this, KB Kookmin Bank launched the service in October in cooperation with LG Uplus to provide its users with low-cost plans and convenient mobile banking services.

As of May, the number of customers who signed up for Liiv M surpassed 60,000.

However, the bank initially aimed to attract 1 million customers within this year, so it began trying to expand the sales network to its offline branches.

The union has protested this attempt, saying this will overwork employees who have already suffered from increased demand for loans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response, the management said its recent attempt was for the sake of old customers who face difficulties in signing up for the service online.

It also said it is in talks with the union regarding this matter.

Some sources said the conflict between the union and Yang has intensified since Yang sued the union after he was physically attacked by union members at his office.