The government did not present a specific relocation plan for financial institutions such as the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service in the second-stage administrative and public institution relocation plan, but the financial sector is not taking this as a signal of withdrawal. As the government said it has not excluded financial institutions from the relocation targets, labor unions at state-run banks and financial public institutions are proceeding with a general strike while also trying to persuade the National Assembly.
On the 4th, the Korean Financial Industry Union (Financial Union) launched its first general strike at Gwanghwamun in Seoul. While demanding adoption of a 4.5-day workweek and wage increases, the union is also opposing the forced relocation of state-run banks such as Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK)(024110), and Export-Import Bank of Korea to the provinces. Unions at the three major state-run banks are at the forefront of this strike.
Unions at the Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation that are not affiliated with the Financial Union are pursuing separate responses. They are meeting with lawmakers on the National Policy Committee to explain their arguments against relocation to the provinces, aiming to block legislation. The Bank of Korea union is also taking the matter seriously and considering a joint response.
Relocating the headquarters of the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, as well as Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea, to the provinces would require amending their establishment acts and the Depositor Protection Act, which must pass review by the National Policy Committee and a vote in the National Assembly plenary session. Current law requires the principal office of the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation and the head offices of Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea to be located in Seoul.
The day before, when announcing the direction for the second-stage administrative and public institution relocation, the government first presented plans to relocate the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Sejong. Whether to relocate financial institutions such as the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, and state-run banks will be finalized in the fourth quarter after review by the relevant ministries and deliberation and resolution by the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development. The government said that not being included in this announcement does not mean exclusion from the relocation targets.
Partial relocation is also being discussed. An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the previous day that "if an institution is designated by law for relocation, its main functions must move," but added that if there are functions tied to the capital area, leaving some in place could be decided during the review of the relocation plan.
Some in the financial sector believe the recent drop in the president's approval rating may have influenced the timing and intensity of the relocation plan announcement for financial institutions. Since the government has maintained the relocation principle and signaled a final decision in the fourth quarter, the debate is expected to shift to which institutions and regions are selected and the prospects for passing the legal amendments needed to move headquarters.