The Financial Supervisory Service labor union on the 4th submitted a petition to the presidential office expressing concerns about the transfer of the Financial Supervisory Service and financial public institutions to the provinces.
The FSS union said Chairperson Kim Sang-woo that day submitted a petition bearing the signatures of 1,720 internal members to President Lee Jae-myung. Chairperson Kim Sang-woo said, "If the FSS and financial public institutions are transferred to the provinces, the weakening of the financial industry's competitiveness will be as clear as day," adding, "If the physical distance from financial consumers grows, we will not be able to respond effectively to financial consumer harm."
In the petition, the union said, "The transfer of the Financial Supervisory Service and financial public institutions to the provinces is the worst decision that runs counter to the times," adding, "It is desirable to concentrate in Seoul (such as Yeouido), the financial hub." It argued that since Seoul was designated as a financial hub, the financial industry has been developed for more than 20 years, but that this foundation would be shaken by a transfer to the provinces.
It said that if the distance between private financial companies, policy finance institutions, and financial supervisory bodies widens, routine information exchange will weaken and the financial industry will regress. The union added, "The policy to create a global finance and business base through the consolidation of the Yeouido financial hub and the Yongsan business district could also become difficult to pursue."
It again raised the possibility of an exodus of FSS personnel. According to the union's internal survey, if a transfer to the provinces is formalized, 609 of 757 employees under age 40 (80.4%), 147 of 172 lawyers (85.5%), 285 of 361 certified public accountants (78.9%), and 203 of 310 master's and doctoral degree holders (65.5%) expressed an intention to leave.
It also emphasized that more than 80% of the roughly 800,000 annual financial complaints are concentrated in the greater Seoul area, and that in-person complaints at the FSS reach 3,468 cases. The union also urged the government to shift the direction of the national balanced development policy to a positive perspective by expanding reinvestment evaluation incentives for regions.
The government a day earlier announced the "second plan to push forward with the transfer of central administrative agencies," mentioning the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality as transfer targets for the first half of next year. Although the Financial Services Commission (FSC) was not mentioned separately, it is highly likely to be included in the list to be announced within the year. As a result, opposition actions by the FSS and financial public institutions are expected to intensify.