The Bank of Korea, Half of Disciplinary Actions Are 'Salary Reductions'... Internal Staff Conduct Self-Audits

The Bank of Korea Ends Pay Cuts for 'Workplace Bullying'
All Six Members of the Management Personnel Committee Are Internal Staff

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] It has been revealed that the Bank of Korea had 16 employees disciplined for various misconducts over five years starting from 2016. More than half of them received minor disciplinary actions such as salary reductions, raising concerns about the Bank’s self-audit system.

According to data submitted by the Bank of Korea to Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee, a total of 16 employees were disciplined over the five years from 2016 to last year. Among them, 10 employees received minor disciplinary actions such as reprimands and salary reductions, while the remaining 6 were subject to major disciplinary actions including suspension and dismissal.

By reason, work-related issues and sexual harassment each accounted for four cases, representing a high proportion. Looking at last year, even in cases of workplace harassment, only salary reductions were imposed. Only sexual harassment cases resulted in suspension.

The reason for the lenient disciplinary measures for various misconducts lies with the 'Management Personnel Committee.' The Bank of Korea’s Management Personnel Committee is composed entirely of six internal members. Furthermore, the regulations regarding dismissal are not clearly defined, making judgments on such matters very difficult.

In the case of public officials, decisions are made by referring cases to the respective jurisdictional committees, and the Central Disciplinary Committee consists of nine members, five of whom are external personnel.

Regarding this, a Bank of Korea official explained, "There were cases of suspension imposed last year," adding, "Since suspension often results in many future personnel disadvantages, it can be considered a high level of disciplinary action."

Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea recently faced criticism that improvements are needed in direction, innovation, motivation, and leadership based on the results of promoting the task of 'spreading a healthy organizational culture.'

Assemblywoman Yang said, "The Bank of Korea is an independent institution that is not subject to any external interference among public institutions required to uphold ethics equivalent to public officials," emphasizing, "Therefore, stricter ethics should be applied." She added, "An institution for which public and market trust is paramount is damaging its credibility by not being strict with itself."

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