'Blue Tie Symbolizing IBK' Worn by Yoon Jong-won... Another Missed Commute to Headquarters

Arrived at Seoul Euljiro Main Branch around 8:39 AM on the 7th
Left in an official car at 8:43 AM, about 4 minutes later
The union set up barricades to block... refused to talk

Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK Industrial Bank, is arriving at the IBK Industrial Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 7th. President Yoon was unable to enter the office due to the union's protest blocking his arrival. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Yoon Jong-won, president of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, was once again blocked on his way to the bank’s headquarters. This marks his second failed attempt to report to work since his first try on the day of his inauguration on the 3rd.

At around 8:39 a.m. on the 7th, Yoon, riding in an official vehicle, arrived at the IBK headquarters on Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul, but was prevented from entering the building by the bank’s labor union blocking the main entrance. About four minutes later, at 8:43 a.m., Yoon left the headquarters by car. It was reported that he went to a temporary office set up at the Financial Training Institute in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Following his first commute, Yoon appeared again wearing a blue tie, the symbolic color of IBK. This seemed to express his identity as an ‘IBK man’ through his attire. Yoon stood with a blank expression without saying a word to the union members who blocked his way.

On the 7th, union members are protesting to block Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK Industrial Bank, from entering the headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

The union refused all dialogue and blocked Yoon’s entry. An executive accompanying Yoon asked for the union chairman to be called, but the union rejected even this request.

The union had been staging a sit-in in the headquarters lobby since around 7:40 a.m. and from 8:15 a.m., dozens of members waited at the back entrance, confronting Yoon. The main entrance was barricaded. The union members shouted, “Blue House that ignores IBK, wake up” and “Parachute appointments, go away.” The union refused to accept Yoon, a parachute appointment from Blue House officials, referring to him as former Economic Secretary Yoon.

Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK Industrial Bank, is turning away from the strike by union members blocking the entrance at the IBK Industrial Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 7th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

When reporters asked Yoon what he would do if they continued to block his commute, he briefly replied, “We need to resolve it with an open mind.” He did not comment on reports that the union was demanding a labor director system. It is expected that Yoon will continue to attempt to report to the headquarters as long as he has no morning schedule.

Yoon entered public service by passing the 27th Administrative Examination and has served as Director of the Economic Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Economic and Financial Secretary at the Blue House, Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Blue House. He is an economic bureaucrat by background.

The union has opposed an external bureaucrat president who has never worked in banking, arguing that such a person does not understand the field. The president of the policy bank IBK is nominated by the Financial Services Commission chairman and appointed by the president. Since 2010, the bank’s president has been appointed through three consecutive internal promotions.

An IBK official said, “We hope to resolve this through sincere dialogue internally and return to normal operations quickly,” adding, “There are many pending tasks such as personnel matters.”

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