Busy with COVID-19... IBK Union Files Complaint Against President (Comprehensive)

Yoon Jong-won, the new president of IBK Industrial Bank, is delivering his inaugural speech at the inauguration ceremony held on the 29th at the IBK headquarters in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The IBK Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) labor union has filed a complaint against IBK President Yoon Jong-won with the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office for violating the Labor Standards Act. The complaint alleges that as loan applications related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) surged, the company forced employees to work beyond the 52-hour weekly limit. Critics argue that the national policy bank's union is being obstinate at a time when small business owners are facing a crisis due to the COVID-19 fallout.

According to financial circles on the 19th, the IBK union submitted a complaint against President Yoon to the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office the day before, claiming that the company forcibly disabled the PC off program that manages overtime work, causing branch employees to work beyond the 52-hour weekly limit. This is the first time in the financial sector that a union has filed a complaint against a CEO for violating the 52-hour workweek regulation.

Kim Hyung-sun, chairman of the IBK union, stated, "Branches are handling dozens to as many as 100 COVID-19-related loan applications daily, and the working hours are insufficient just for these tasks alone," adding, "However, the bank has not adjusted its existing profit targets by even a fraction."

IBK's explanation differs. The bank said, "We have prepared measures to ensure strict compliance with the 52-hour workweek and explained them to the union," adding, "Weekly overtime work status is checked and managed by both employees and managers." They also stated, "We are strengthening PC off system controls, establishing a reporting channel for unfair labor practices, and taking personnel actions against violators."

Regarding performance evaluation indicators (KPI), the bank said, "We have significantly reduced management evaluation targets, focusing on some items that require adjustment to reflect changes in the bank's operating environment due to the COVID-19 crisis and to allow employees to concentrate on supporting small business owners and self-employed individuals." In particular, they added, "Branches in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, declared national disaster areas, will have separate evaluations in addition to target adjustments, greatly easing the evaluation burden."

An IBK official said, "We are making every effort to comply with relevant laws even in difficult situations through compliant and proper management."

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@

Inside and outside the financial sector, there are criticisms that the IBK union's decision to proceed with the complaint against President Yoon without seeking solutions with management during the national emergency caused by COVID-19 is excessive. Negative views dominate regarding the union's intention to use the emergency situation to demand the withdrawal of performance targets.

An official from a commercial bank said, "As we strive to quickly supply loans to self-employed individuals and companies struggling due to COVID-19, branch employees' workloads have inevitably increased significantly, making some overtime unavoidable," adding, "Isn't the IBK union, a national policy bank union, only focused on protecting its own interests during a national emergency?"

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