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| Unionized workers of Korea Development Bank (KDB) hold a protest in front of the bank's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, June 9. Yonhap |
By Lee Kyung-min
Unionized workers of Korea Development Bank (KDB) said Friday that they have no plans to end their ongoing protest blocking new chairman Kang Seog-hoon from setting foot in the bank's headquarters, unless President Yoon Suk-yeol responds to their calls to scrap the planned relocation of the state-run bank to Busan. Yoon said during his campaign that the relocation would help elevate the status of the nation's second-largest city, transforming it into a global financial hub housing major financial institutions.
The protest by the bank workers could evolve into an extended conflict, a waster of government resources otherwise needed to resolve a slew of pressing issues, mostly concerning mergers and acquisitions (M&As), as well as the sales of Korea's major shipbuilders and airline operators.
About 500 KDB workers held a press conference and rally in front of the bank's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday, stressing that the responsibility for any losses from the ongoing conflict would fall entirely on the public. It was the tenth consecutive day of their protest since Kang was appointed on June 7. Kang set up a small office near the bank headquarters to go to for work, without any access to the bank's key affairs. His inauguration is delayed indefinitely.
"The politically motivated relocation plan will pose a major risk not only to the Yoon administration but also to the country's economy in the long run," they said during a press conference.
Kang's initial willingness to discuss the relocation plan was more than undercut by his later stance, whereby he repeatedly reiterated that the issue is one of Yoon's major campaign pledges, the workers said.
"He feigned openness in front of the cameras just to portray himself as a positive listener in media coverage, a facade that hid his irresponsibility and poor understanding of bank workers' shared concerns," they said.
The railroading of the relocation plan will leave the state-run bank unable to function as the front line of defense, the workers stressed, in the event of a major financial crisis in the country, since advanced financial service providers and their infrastructures are almost entirely centered in and around the Seoul metropolitan area.
"If state-run banks including the Korea Development Bank move to provincial areas, the safety net to deal with the economic crisis may not work properly," the union said Friday.
It bears repeating that the financial and foreign exchange market complications must be fully considered amid the global geopolitical uncertainties and monetary tightening around the world to temper inflation, as commented upon by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, they said.
"Kang must show prudence in his judgment by accepting our demands to have President Yoon deal with the issue head-on."
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