[Exclusive] Yoon Jong-won, Bankers Club's First Official Meeting "Continued Dialogue with Union"

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 come to work due to the union's protest blocking his entry. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Yoon Jong-won, the new president of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, said on the 13th, "We will continue to propose dialogue with the labor union."

Before the first 'Management Issue Review Meeting' held at 9 a.m. that day at the Chinese restaurant Bankers Club on the 16th floor of the Bankers Hall in Myeong-dong, Seoul, President Yoon told reporters, "We are still continuously proposing to meet the labor union through employees."

Since his first day at work on the 3rd was blocked by the labor union, President Yoon has not been able to come to the headquarters for more than ten days until that day. The labor union maintains its stance of not engaging in dialogue with President Yoon unless the Blue House apologizes for the parachute appointment and promises to prevent recurrence, continuing their struggle to block his attendance at work.

Because of this, President Yoon has been receiving reports on current issues and working remotely from a temporary office set up at the Financial Training Institute in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. Over the past ten days, he has held individual business meetings such as introductory meetings with executives here, but this was the first official meeting attended by all executives. IBK has been holding a 'Management Issue Review Meeting' every other Monday at the headquarters, presided over by the bank president and attended by all executives. However, due to the ongoing disruption caused by the president working outside the headquarters, the first official meeting was held at a restaurant.

As the dysfunctional management shows signs of prolongation, concerns are rising inside and outside IBK about side effects from delays in personnel appointments and disruptions to core businesses such as support for small and medium-sized enterprises. The terms of five vice presidents, including the senior vice president, are about to expire. Affiliates have not been able to appoint successors even though the terms of their representatives have ended. Typically, IBK has conducted personnel appointments around mid-January. Last year, the regular personnel appointments for the first half of the year were also held on January 15.

An IBK official said, "Currently, various internal issues including this year's management plan and personnel matters are piling up," expressing concern that "if this situation continues, it will have adverse effects not only on the bank but also on small and medium-sized enterprises, which are major customers."

When asked by reporters whether he plans to continue coming to the headquarters, President Yoon rather responded, "How would you like me to do it?" His answer reflected the heavy heart with which he sets out every morning.

The IBK labor union will hold a large discussion forum at 4 p.m. on the 13th at the Euljiro headquarters in Seoul, with all union members and leadership participating. There is speculation inside and outside IBK and the labor union that discussions about a meeting between President Yoon and the labor union will take place through this forum. President Yoon briefly said about this, "We will resolve it naturally."

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