The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) and the Financial Supervisory Service labor unions on the 24th asked that the two agencies be excluded from the government's second round of public institution regional transfer.
The unions held a joint press conference Tuesday morning in front of the Sarangchae at Cheong Wa Dae in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and said, "The locations of KDIC and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) are a matter of financial stability and financial consumer protection," stating accordingly.
They said, "The headquarters of the financial companies that are the protection Daesang of KDIC and the inspection Daesang of the FSS are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, and financial infrastructure such as financial companies and the financial authorities, as well as law and accounting firms and IT specialist institutions, are also clustered in the metropolitan area," adding, "Any damage that occurs after the institutions safeguarding the financial system leave the financial front lines will fall squarely on the public." They argued that swift crisis response is critical, but physical distance between institutions could delay decision-making and lead to damage to the public. They also argued that in major advanced financial countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, the institutions for financial stability and supervision are located in the capital.
They also raised the possibility of professional staff leaving. According to a survey on regional transfer conducted by the FSS union of its 1,538 members, 82.5% of employees under age 40 said they would actively consider changing jobs if relocated to a non-capital region. That is higher than the rate for all age groups (69.7%). In an internal survey by the KDIC union, among those with less than five years of service, 12% said they would continue working if relocated, and among grade-5 staff, the figure was 9.5%.
The unions said, "Many on the working-level staff are personnel whose financial and legal expertise has been verified, including certified public accountants, attorneys, and actuaries, and they have internalized experience of directly navigating historic financial crises such as the savings bank incident," adding, "The loss of expertise is the loss of the consumer protection function."
The second-round regional transfer plan for central administrative agencies, including the Financial Services Commission, is expected to be deliberated at a Cabinet meeting as early as the 25th. The FSS and KDIC are considering additional solidarity depending on progress, and are also reviewing the possibility of solidarity with institutions subject to regional transfer. The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-sure) union also attended the press conference and opposed the regional transfer.