San-eun, Previous Public Institution Notices... Union and Legal Amendments Are Key

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Korea Development Bank (KDB) has officially been designated as a relocated public institution, accelerating its move to Busan. However, the financial sector views significant challenges ahead, including negotiations with labor unions strongly opposing the relocation and the need to amend the KDB Act, which currently stipulates the head office location as Seoul.

According to the financial sector on the 3rd, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced KDB as a relocated public institution on the same day. This is a follow-up measure after the National Balanced Development Committee designated KDB as a public institution to be relocated to Busan last month.

KDB is currently conducting the "KDB Policy Finance Capacity Enhancement Consulting" to prepare a relocation plan. Once the consulting results are finalized this month, KDB plans to draft a relocation plan based on them and submit it to the Financial Services Commission. If the financial authorities review and approve it, KDB will complete the major administrative procedures related to the Busan relocation.

The biggest remaining task is the amendment of the KDB Act. Article 4 of the current KDB Act states that "KDB shall have its head office in Seoul Special City," making a legal amendment essential for the Busan relocation. The ruling party has already proposed a bill to amend the KDB Act to designate Busan as the head office location.

However, the variable is the current parliamentary landscape, where the ruling party holds fewer seats than the opposition. The position of the Democratic Party of Korea, the largest party in the National Assembly, is unclear. While there is considerable caution about KDB’s relocation to Busan among the central party and Seoul-area lawmakers, there are also positive sentiments in Busan and other regions. The opposition party has also proposed an amendment broadly defining KDB’s head office location as "Republic of Korea."

Another concern is the growing opposition from labor unions. The unions maintain their stance of non-cooperation in preparing the relocation plan even after KDB’s designation as a relocated public institution. A financial sector official said, "With the general election for the National Assembly scheduled for April next year, the opposition party’s position is also complicated," adding, "This could also be linked to the second round of discussions on relocated public institutions planned for the first half of the year."

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