Financial Workers Union Stages General Strike Opposing Relocation of Financial Public Institutions

[Anchor]

The Korea Financial Industry Union has staged a general strike in opposition to the government's push to relocate financial public institutions to rural regions. The union argued that relocating from Seoul, which possesses global competitiveness, could trigger side effects such as the outflow of top-tier talent, criticizing the government's move as a unilateral push.

Reporter Min Gyeongho has the details.

[Reporter]

[Strike, strike, general strike, struggle!]

The financial workers union staged a full-scale one-day general strike yesterday (the 4th) to denounce the government's policy to relocate financial public institutions to non-capital regions.

Some 30,000 workers gathered, centered around the unions of the three major state-run banks targeted for relocation: the Korea Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and the Industrial Bank of Korea.

They argued that the government must first verify what benefits relocating from Seoul—a globally competitive hub—to the provinces would actually bring.

Instead, they criticized that the relocation could lead to adverse effects such as the drain of talented professionals, pointing out that the administration is pushing the policy unilaterally without any consultation with workers.

[Yoon Suk-gu / Chairman, Korea Financial Industry Union: Most of the stakeholders we deal with work in Seoul. What on earth is the meaning of conducting discussions in the provinces and executing policy financing outside the capital?]

The labor union of the Financial Supervisory Service also stated, "If the Financial Services Commission and the FSS are relocated to the provinces, the weakening of the financial industry's competitiveness is as clear as day," and submitted a petition signed by some 1,700 executives and employees to the presidential office yesterday.

While the FSC was excluded from the government's announcement regarding the relocation of central administrative agencies the day before yesterday, the possibility of it being included in an announcement within this year remains high, prompting expectations that pushback from related financial institutions will only intensify.

Alongside opposition to regional relocation, the financial union is also demanding the introduction of a 4.5-day workweek and a 6 percent wage hike, maintaining that it may launch additional strikes depending on the outcome of negotiations.

(Camera Reporter: Kim Heung-ki, Lee Chan-soo | Video Editor: Lee Hong-myung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.