Seoul: Financial institutions have strongly opposed the government's plans to relocate public institutions from Seoul to provincial areas, industry watchers said Wednesday. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has started collecting opinions from public institutions subject to relocation, under a policy of moving as many of them out of Seoul as possible, while the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is pushing ahead with plans to relocate government ministries and agencies.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the process remains at an early stage, without a detailed timeline or a list of institutions subject to relocation. The ministries are accelerating their efforts after President Lee Jae Myung called for leaving no public institutions or agencies in Seoul. Despite the strong opposition from affected institutions, the government has indicated that it will not abandon the relocation plan. An official from the land ministry, requesting anonymity, stated that while all institutions do not want to relocate, a proper explanation for staying in Seoul could be acceptable.
Some financial institutions have begun taking collective action as the relocation plan takes shape. The Korea Financial Industry Union, representing financial workers in the country, announced plans to hold a rally later this month and launch a general strike next month if the government continues with the relocation plan. In a recent vote, 96.1 percent of union members supported the planned general strike, demanding that the government halt the relocation process, which they claim is a political attempt to undermine policy lenders by excluding financial workers.
Unionized workers at the Korea Development Bank, along with workers at other policy lenders such as the Industrial Bank of Korea and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, have joined forces in opposing the government plan. They argue that the relocation would undermine their expertise and roles as policy-financing institutions. Additionally, the union of the Financial Supervisory Service issued a statement emphasizing the need for the agency to remain in the capital to ensure effective supervision.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, also known as Nonghyup, along with other cooperatives, has also voiced opposition to the relocation plan. The relocation initiative is part of a long-term South Korean government project aimed at promoting balanced national development, as nearly half of the country's population resides in Seoul and its surrounding areas. Previous relocations include the establishment of Sejong City in the central region, where major government ministries have moved, and the recent relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan.