Kibank Union, "Opposition to Transfer to Ministry of SMEs and Startups"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The Industrial Bank of Korea branch of the National Financial Industry Labor Union issued a statement on the 13th opposing the bill proposed by Kim Kyung-man, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, which includes transferring the Industrial Bank of Korea from under the Financial Services Commission to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

The IBK union opposed the transfer to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups for three reasons: "IBK could become a financial source for the ruling power," "It is like cutting open the belly of the goose that lays golden eggs," and "Efficiency and speed are higher as they are now."

In the statement, the union said, "The biggest problem is the 'politicization of IBK' that arises from leaving a specialized financial supervisory agency," adding, "It could become a channel for the ruling power's money distribution. Before discussing the advantages of transferring to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, it is necessary to discuss a system that is not swayed by populism depending on conservative or progressive administrations."

The union also stated, "IBK is a sound company that generated a net profit of 1.6 trillion won last year on its own. It is not a government department funded by taxes but a company that makes money. The loan funds of IBK are not government-supported but generated from its own profits," and argued, "If such an organization is placed under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and prioritized for policy financial support, how can profitability and soundness be guaranteed in the future?"

Furthermore, the union said, "The logic advocating the transfer is efficiency and speed, but this presupposes that IBK's current policy finance is inefficient and slow," adding, "IBK provided 13 trillion won in COVID-19 financial support within five months. This is three times the average of commercial banks and more than twice the scale and speed compared to the 2008 financial crisis."