At 10:30 a.m. on the 4th, the four-lane road stretching about 550 meters from Deoksugung to exit 6 of Gwanghwamun Station was packed with union members. The union members wore red headbands reading "general strike" or yellow sun visors reading "2026 financial union first general strike victory."
The Korea Finance Industry Union held a rally to declare a general strike on Sejong-daero in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 4th, demanding that the government withdraw the transfer of state-run banks to the provinces. It has been about a year since the financial union launched a general strike, the last time being in September last year.
The financial union explained the background of the general strike, saying, "We continued negotiations more than 31 times over several months, but in the end they avoided responsibility." The financial union said it decided on a general strike with a 96.05% approval rate in a vote on Aug. 12. Yang Min-ho, senior vice chair of the financial union, said, "Six items are the core demands of the financial union: introduction of a 4.5-day workweek, expanded youth hiring, prior agreement on headquarters transfer, extension of the retirement age, real wage guarantees, and system improvements."
The union side counted 20,000 participants, while the police put the figure at 16,000. Commercial banks, card companies, capital firms, and financial public corporations joined the general strike, but some noted it was centered on state-run banks where a provincial transfer is being discussed, such as Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK)(024110) and the Korea Development Bank. A union member met at the strike said, "There are 42 participating branches, but since the main agenda is the headquarters transfer to the provinces, most are employees of state-run banks."
Another union member said, "Because the headquarters transfer is the main agenda, regular branch employees likely did not feel a strong need to strike," adding, "The union even paid incentives to encourage participation, but it did not lead to large turnout."
Branches around Gwanghwamun Station, where the rally was held, looked much the same as usual. The number of counter staff at nearby branches of Shinhan Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, and Woori Bank did not differ much. Bank employees said, "We heard through the union that there would be a general strike, but the number of waiting customers was at normal levels, and it was hard to feel the strike."