With news that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will designate the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and other Seoul-based financial authorities as candidates for regional transfer, state-run banks such as Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and Korea Development Bank also appear on edge.
According to the financial sector on the 11th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is also considering whether to transfer to the regions state-run banks headquartered in Seoul, in addition to the financial authorities. Right after the June 3 local elections, the ministry carried out a major personnel reshuffle, replacing many staffers at the Innovative City Development Promotion Team, the department in charge of public institution regional transfer.
Inside Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), there is said to be significant wariness about a regional transfer. In this local election, both ruling and opposition candidates who faced off for the Daegu mayoralty each put forward a key pledge to move IBK to Daegu. However, after opposition candidate Choo Kyung-ho won the Daegu mayoral race, the internal response is reportedly that it is "a relief, at least."
An industry official said, "To transfer Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), the law must be changed, but lawmakers from the People Power Party alone do not have the numbers. The Democratic Party of Korea would have to lend support, but that would mean the ruling party helps fulfill the opposition's pledge," adding, "Based on this logic, some believe the likelihood of IBK's transfer to Daegu is low."
Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Small and Medium Industry Bank Act states, "The Small and Medium Industry Bank shall place its head office in Seoul Special City." To amend the law, a majority of the 300 lawmakers must attend a plenary session of the National Assembly, and a majority of those present must vote in favor. The People Power Party currently holds 110 seats.
President Lee Jae-myung has added two conditions for the transfer of public institutions: ▲ concentrating transfers in certain regions ▲ granting special benefits to integrated local governments. At present, the only integrated local government confirmed to launch is the "Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City," formed by the integration of South Jeolla Province and Gwangju. Although Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province sought integration, the plan was put on hold in February and has seen no further movement, effectively stalling.
Korea Development Bank suffered a major ordeal over whether to transfer to Busan during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. The pledge of Jeon Jae-soo, who won the Busan mayoral race in this local election, did not include a transfer of Korea Development Bank to Busan. A financial sector official said, "The regional transfer of financial institutions ultimately depends on the will of the presidential office, so the absence from a pledge is no reason to be relieved."