Lee Chang-yong, "Raising Interest Rates but Can't Raise Wages"... 46% of BOK Employees Say "Internal Management Failing"

Bank of Korea Union Conducts Survey of 1,002 Employees

Employees of the Bank of Korea evaluated Governor Lee Chang-yong, who marked his first anniversary in office, as having good work capabilities but lacking in internal management. This is because they still view the salary levels as too low, not reaching the average of financial public enterprises and commercial banks even after Governor Lee's appointment.

The Bank of Korea labor union disclosed the results of a survey conducted from the 3rd to the 13th of this month, targeting 1,002 union members, on the 18th.

According to the survey, employees assessed that the Bank of Korea's status domestically and internationally has risen since Governor Lee took office. They also judged the governor's work ability to be excellent in areas such as monetary policy and financial stability.

In response to the question, "Were efforts to stabilize prices (such as interest rate hikes) timely after the governor's inauguration?" 68% answered "Yes," and 16% answered "Strongly yes." Only 10% and 1% responded "No" and "Strongly no," respectively.

To the question, "Were efforts to ensure financial stability (such as financial market stabilization policies) timely after the governor's inauguration?" 70% responded "Yes."

When asked, "Do you think the Bank of Korea's international status has risen since the governor took office?" 44% answered "Yes," and 14% answered "Strongly yes," indicating that most employees are satisfied with the governor's international standing and work ability.

However, to the question, "Do you think the Bank of Korea's status has risen among economic policy authorities (Ministry of Economy and Finance, Financial Services Commission, etc.) since the governor took office?" 35% answered "Yes," while 32% answered "No," showing a similar split.

Bank of Korea employees gave very low evaluations regarding the governor's internal management capabilities.

In response to the question, "Has the Bank's salary level recovered to an appropriate level since the governor took office?" 48% answered "No," and 45% answered "Strongly no," with negative responses totaling 93%.

When asked about the "appropriate salary level" for the Bank of Korea, 34% chose "the average of financial public enterprises and commercial banks," the most common answer.

According to the current Bank of Korea Act, the authority to approve the Bank's personnel expenses lies with the Minister of Economy and Finance. Employees argued that this approval authority should be transferred to the Monetary Policy Committee through an amendment to the Bank of Korea Act.

Regarding the overall work ability of Governor Lee, 50% rated it as "average," followed by 36% who rated it as "good."

For internal management, 40% rated it as "average," 32% as "poor," and 14% as "very poor," showing generally negative evaluations.

Yu Hee-jun, chairman of the Bank of Korea labor union, said, "The Bank's management demands 'control tower' level capabilities for the Korean economy from employees, but forces salary levels to the bottom of financial public enterprises," adding, "The Bank of Korea, once a workplace blessed by God and a subject of admiration, is becoming increasingly shabby."

He continued, "Since the Ministry of Economy and Finance tightly controls and manipulates personnel expenses, how can the Bank of Korea ignore the Ministry's demands?" and pointed out, "Nowhere else in the world does a central bank's personnel expenses get unilaterally decided by a central government ministry."

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