6.3 out of 10 People in Chungcheong Region Say "Local Bank Establishment Needed"

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Among residents of the Chungcheong region, 6.3 out of 10 agreed on the necessity of establishing a regional bank for the Chungcheong area. The consensus is based on the underlying perception that there is an urgent need to create a financial safety net for local small business owners and the common people.

On the 28th, Chungnam Province announced that it conducted a public opinion survey on the establishment of a regional bank from the 21st to the 23rd of last month, targeting 1,000 adults aged 19 and older residing in Daejeon, Sejong, Chungnam, and Chungbuk, resulting in these findings.

The survey included 384 respondents from Chungnam, 291 from Chungbuk, 264 from Daejeon, and 61 from Sejong. By age group, there were 158 respondents aged 19 to 29, 152 in their 30s, 188 in their 40s, 194 in their 50s, and 308 aged 60 and above.

The proportion of respondents who believed the establishment of a regional bank was necessary exceeded half, at 63.3%. Conversely, 28.9% viewed it as unnecessary, and 7.2% were unsure.

Those in favor of establishing a regional bank cited reasons such as "support for small business owners and low-income groups (31%)," "promotion of regional development projects linked with local governments (25.9%)," "fostering and supporting local small and medium enterprises (21.3%)," and "volunteer and contribution activities to the local community (17.7%)."

On the other hand, those opposed expressed negative views toward the establishment of a regional bank, mainly because "the current role of general commercial banks is sufficient (85.7%)."

Regarding the main body to promote the establishment of a regional bank, 43.3% of all respondents considered a "coalition between local governments, financial institutions wishing to invest, and industrial entities" to be appropriate. As for the method of securing capital, 49.7% favored "cooperation between industrial entities and financial sectors, along with local government budgets and public subscription from residents."

An official from the province stated, "The proportion of respondents who answered that a regional bank is necessary increased by 5.5 percentage points compared to last year. Based on these results, the province will continue consultations with political and financial sectors to lead the establishment of a Chungcheong regional bank and strive to improve the quality of financial services for local residents."

Meanwhile, in the Chungcheong region, since the closure of Chungcheong Bank in 1998 due to the IMF bailout crisis, there has been no regional bank to date. Concerns have been continuously raised regarding ▲regional financial and economic underdevelopment ▲outflow of local funds outside the region ▲and deepening financial polarization due to the concentration of finance in the Seoul metropolitan area.

In response, the four cities and provinces of the Chungcheong region signed an agreement on the joint promotion of establishing a Chungcheong regional bank on the 8th and planned to submit an application for approval to the Financial Services Commission in 2023.

The agreement centers on mutual cooperation among the four cities and provinces to realize financial decentralization and strengthen financial support for small and medium enterprises and small business owners through the establishment of a Chungcheong regional bank.

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