President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial and detention have led to several national tasks being adrift. One of them is the policy to transfer the Korea Development Bank headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, to Busan. President Yoon appealed to voters in Busan with this promise during his presidential campaign. However, it turns out that this promise was an impromptu commitment made by President Yoon that even the staff of the People Power Party's presidential campaign at the time were unaware of.
According to multiple officials involved in the People Power Party's campaign for the 20th presidential election, President Yoon announced the promise to transfer the Korea Development Bank to Busan, ignoring the opinions of campaign staff. An official who participated in the election campaign said, "I learned about President Yoon's promise to transfer to Busan from media reports," adding, "Up until that point, the economic advisors were skeptical about the transfer of the Korea Development Bank and had tentatively agreed not to include it in the presidential campaign promises."
Let's turn back time. On January 15, 2022, while the presidential campaign was in full swing, President Yoon visited Busan for a two-day, one-night schedule. During a speech in Busan that day, President Yoon announced the promise to transfer the Korea Development Bank. It was the first time President Yoon had promised the transfer to Busan. At that time, the media even used the term "surprise promise" to describe his unexpected announcement.
This is understandable, as the People Power Party's campaign had not adopted the promise to transfer the Korea Development Bank to Busan until just before President Yoon's departure. Rather, it is said that the campaign staff had gathered a consensus to keep the bank in Yeouido. The People Power Party camp also reportedly communicated behind the scenes with the financial union to express the opinion that they would not present the transfer as a promise.
Earlier, the financial union asked presidential candidates about their views on maintaining the national policy bank in Seoul, and President Yoon's side replied that "the transfer of national financial institutions to local areas requires re-examination considering organizational efficiency and the degradation of unique functions." The day President Yoon's response reached the financial union was January 12, 2022, just three days before he announced the promise to transfer the Korea Development Bank in Busan.
Not only the financial union but also the internal camp of the People Power Party was reportedly taken aback by President Yoon's sudden announcement. It is said that the influence of politicians from Busan played a role in President Yoon's abrupt decision to transfer the Korea Development Bank. Another campaign participant noted, "The background of the promise to transfer the Korea Development Bank emerged from the spontaneous ideas of local politicians in Busan," adding, "It was an unrealistic promise from the start."
Even after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration took office, President Yoon mentioned the transfer of the Korea Development Bank to Busan several times. However, he faced strong opposition from the bank's union, and the National Assembly reacted tepidly, preventing progress. Following the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon and his detention, the transfer of the Korea Development Bank has effectively stalled. Kim Hyung-sun, Chairperson of the financial union, stated, "The momentum for the transfer of the Korea Development Bank under the current administration has stopped," adding, "It was a promise politically engineering-driven without considering the role of the Korea Development Bank and national interests from the beginning."