A senior official of the Woori Bank labor union alleged on the company message board that the union chair and other officials used union dues to buy 166 million won worth of expensive golf wear and held a workshop at a golf course. The official also filed a complaint accusing the union chair of breach of trust in the course of duty.
According to the financial sector on the 18th, a Woori Bank union official surnamed L said they posted an article titled "The union reality you must know" on the company message board and filed a complaint against the current union chair.
L said, "The current 10th union bought expensive golf wear, calling it protest uniforms, five to seven sets per person." L explained that 79 union officials purchased golf wear at the Shinsegae Myeong-dong main store in Seoul, spending 166 million won (an average of 2.1 million won per person).
L said, "They enclosed exchange vouchers and converted them into personal or family items, privately misusing precious union dues. Without any prior discussion with me, who oversees internal affairs, or obtaining approval, they resolved the payment and made the purchases."
L also claimed that the union chair and officials took a three-day, two-night golf trip using union dues under the pretext of a quarterly workshop. L said, "Even as they use union dues recklessly, they lack even the minimum sense of concern. Bank employees at our bank are dismissed if they embezzle even 10,000 won in cash on hand."
L continued, "They ignore the voices on the ground pleading labor shortages and operate a labor union official roster twice as large as other banks. As a result, more than half of the hard-earned union dues from members are going out as salaries for officials." The Woori Bank union's budget this year, as disclosed by L, is about 5.9 billion won.
L said they submitted a disciplinary request to the higher body, the Financial Industry Union, against the union chair and officials, and reported the chair for breach of trust in the course of duty. L said, "For the past five months, I have raised countless issues, but the only replies were absurd ones like 'Nothing violated custom or procedure' and 'If we fight the company, union members will be harmed.'"
The post was deleted from the company message board shortly after it went up. The union chair was said to have delivered a statement to members saying they would "check the facts" regarding the allegations. ChosunBiz asked the Woori Bank union for its position on the allegations, but the union said it "does not want to engage with the media."