At a joint rally opposing relocation to the provinces, held in front of the Korea Development Bank headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 11th, participating union members of the Korea Development Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, and the Export-Import Bank of Korea hold placards. Yonhap News
The unions of South Korea’s three major state-owned banks — Korea Development Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea (024110.KS) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea — held a large outdoor rally to protest what they called the government’s unilateral push to relocate their headquarters out of Seoul. The banks are among the institutions being discussed for the second round of relocating public agencies to regional areas.
The unions warned they would fight to the end, arguing that a forced relocation of the state banks would undermine the country’s financial competitiveness and deal a fatal blow to the broader economy.
The three unions, all affiliated with the Korea Financial Industry Union, held the rally near KDB’s headquarters in Seoul’s Yeouido district, the financial sector said on the 11th. It was the first time the three unions had joined forces for a large-scale collective action over the relocation issue. Organizers estimated that about 2,000 members turned out — 900 from KDB, 800 from IBK and 350 from Eximbank — including staff from regional branches who had taken leave to travel to the capital. They filled the streets holding picket signs reading, “We firmly oppose a hasty relocation that shakes the state banks.”
The union leaders spoke with one voice, expressing concern that the move would damage the core role of policy finance institutions and criticizing a policy push they said lacked procedural legitimacy. Kim Hyun-jun, head of the KDB union, recalled resisting a push to relocate the bank to Busan under the former Yoon Suk-yeol administration. “Just as we fought fiercely and won when everyone was ready to give up, let us hold out to the end,” he urged.
Ryu Jang-hee, head of the IBK union, sharply criticized the political establishment, calling the move “an outrage that goes beyond a simple broken promise to deny principle, reason, trust and scientific grounds altogether.” Jung Eun-ju, head of the Eximbank union, also stressed the unfairness of relocating the headquarters, saying the bank “must foster industries on the front line of policy finance and serve as a safety valve in times of national crisis.”
Some ruling-party politicians sided with the unions. Rep. Kim Hyun-jung of the Democratic Party, who attended the rally, expressed solidarity with the unions, saying, “What regional development truly needs is not simply moving the headquarters of state banks, but injecting low-interest policy funds into regional companies in a timely manner.” Rep. Han Chang-min of the Social Democratic Party also took aim at the government’s hasty push without prior consultation.
The rally added to tensions as observers expect the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to announce, as early as next month, the individual relocation sites for the second round of some 350 public agencies. With the government’s policy announcement imminent, the state banks’ unions are seen as taking pre-emptive action.
Labor-management conflict in the financial sector is expected to intensify further. On the 12th, the Korea Financial Industry Union will hold a vote on whether to take industrial action, with agenda items including opposition to the relocation, the introduction of a 4.5-day workweek and wage increases. Analysts say that if the measures pass, they could lead to a large-scale general strike early next month.