Newly Appointed IBK President Yoon Jong-won’s First Day at Work Canceled Due to Union Opposition

Union Blocks Bureaucrat-Turned-Bank President's Commute
Willing to Strike... Painful Period Inevitable for Now

Yoon Jong-won, the newly appointed president of IBK Industrial Bank, was blocked by union members opposing his appointment as he tried to go to the bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd. President Yoon was unable to enter due to the union members' protest against what they called a "parachute appointment" and had to turn back. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Hyo-jin and Kwon Hae-young] On the first day of his term, June 3, Yoon Jong-won, the newly appointed president of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, failed to report to work due to opposition from the labor union, which labeled him a "parachute appointment." This occurred as the Moon administration appointed a bureaucrat as president for the first time in 10 years, prompting the union to stage a blockade protest. Since the IBK union has declared it is willing to go on a general strike, further turmoil is expected for the time being.

Yoon's first day at work was chaotic. He arrived at the IBK headquarters in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul at 8:28 a.m., but was prevented from entering the office by the union's opposition. Yoon told the union members, who had barricaded the entrance and formed a human chain to block access, "I do not consider myself an underqualified parachute appointment. I will work hard to make IBK strong and a reliable workplace," but less than 10 minutes later, at 9:27 a.m., he had to turn back.

The IBK union, which had installed barricades in front of the headquarters days earlier, gathered in the first-floor lobby from 7 a.m. to block Yoon's entry. The appointment of Yoon, an economic bureaucrat and former Blue House economic chief under the current administration, broke the tradition of appointing three consecutive presidents from within the bank?Jo Jun-hee, Kwon Sun-joo, and Kim Do-jin. Park Hong-bae, the new chairman of the Financial Labor Union, also joined the blockade protest.

Having been blocked from his first day at work, Yoon faces a difficult road ahead. Urgent tasks such as appointing CEOs of IBK affiliates, whose terms expired last month, executive appointments, and business promotion are impossible to carry out normally without overcoming union opposition. The union has warned of a long-term strike following the blockade protest.

In a phone interview with Asia Economy the day before, Yoon said, "I will meet with union members to listen to their concerns and worries." He added, "Although the timing of the meeting has not been decided yet, I will meet with them as soon as possible to resolve issues reasonably." He also stated, "As a policy bank established to support small and medium-sized enterprises, we will strive to balance the bank's public mission and profitability to address the financial difficulties of SMEs," but communication with the union is expected to be difficult in the immediate future.

An IBK official said, "Yoon expressed that the inauguration ceremony should be held after sufficient dialogue and exchange of opinions with the union," adding, "The plan is to take time to communicate with the union, narrow differences, and build trust."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.