Umbrella union of financial workers protests Yoon's KDB relocation plan

The logo of Korea Development Bank (KDB) is seen in front of its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Korea Times file

By Yi Whan-woo

The Korean Financial Industry Union, a labor group representing workers at private and public banks nationwide, issued a statement, Friday, protesting President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's pledge to move Korea Development Bank (KDB) from Seoul to Busan.

The union claimed that the possible relocation could seriously impact the efficiency of KDB's operations and cause inconvenience to corporate customers, decrease government support concentrated on Seoul-headquartered financial entities and trigger the departure of skilled workers.

The union delivered the statement to the presidential transition committee after holding a press conference near the committee's office in central Seoul.

“The relocation is being pursued in a hasty manner with sufficient explanation to convince the involved parties,” union leader Park Hong-bae said, calling on Yoon to scrap the plan immediately.

He said he agrees with Yoon on the need for balanced regional development, but argued that relocating KDB will not help at all in reaching that goal.

Park went to say the relocations of state-run companies and public institutions in the past proved to be ineffective in bolstering regional economies.

He especially warned that moving KDB to Busan will prompt Seoul to lose its competence as an emerging international financial hub and make it difficult for Korea to nurture finance as a growth engine.

“The union therefore asks the incoming government to be prudent and thoughtful in its policy concerning KDB,” Park added.

Yoon's pledge is in accordance with Busan's vision to become a financial hub of Northeast Asia. The southeastern port city, however, is believed to have been unsuccessful in attracting foreign financial firms.

The relocation plan has been unnerving employees of KDB as well as those at Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), which are also state-run lenders, because Yoon hinted at moving more financial institutions outside of Seoul.