NH Nonghyup Union Protests Relocation to Provinces: "Private Capital, Forced Separation From Families"

[Stop it, stop it, stop the relocation to the provinces!]

NH Nonghyup union members filled the street, holding picket signs and banners.

About 250 members of the NH Nonghyup branch of the Korea Financial Industry Union gathered this morning in front of the headquarters of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup) in Jung-gu, Seoul, and marched to the Cheong Wa Dae Sarangchae to hold a rally opposing the relocation of Nonghyup's headquarters to a regional area.

[Son Min-ho / NH Nonghyup Union Member: They tell me, and us, to live separated from our families because it is necessary for balanced regional development. I want to ask the comrades gathered here. Is this right?]

Although Nonghyup is not a public institution, union members protested as it has been mentioned alongside other state-run banks as a target under the government's second-phase public institution relocation plan.

[Yoon Suk-goo / Chairman of the Korea Financial Industry Union: (NH Nonghyup) is private capital funded 100% by farmer members. Unnecessary costs are about to be incurred, so why on earth are they telling us to relocate to the provinces?]

The union estimates that relocating the headquarters of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation will require at least 250.2 billion won, excluding land purchase costs, including 213 billion won for new construction and 39 billion won for executive and employee housing support.

Furthermore, the union argues that out of 1,167 central headquarters personnel, excluding essential operating staff, the actual number of relocatable personnel is around 460. Additionally, since about 70,000 people, or 73% of affiliate executives and employees, are already working outside the greater Seoul area, the effect of additional regional relocation would be minimal.

The second-phase public institution relocation plan is reportedly expected to include around 350 institutions within the greater Seoul area, which is twice the size of the 153 institutions during the first-phase relocation that began in 2005.

Although the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has not disclosed a specific schedule, an atmosphere that an announcement is imminent has led to a growing wave of opposition, centered mainly around financial institutions.

The labor unions of the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation plan to hold a joint press conference this coming August 24 and issue a joint statement opposing the regional relocation.

In addition, the financial union, which includes state-run banks such as the Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), plans to hold a general strike struggle rally on August 28 and go on a general strike on September 4.

(Reported by Lee Tae-gwon, Camera Filming by Lee Chan-soo, Video Editing by Yoon Tae-ho, Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.