Kookmin and Shinhan Banks Decide to Withdraw Some Staff from Myanmar Office

Soldiers equipped with machine guns on vehicles in Kyaikto, Mon State, Myanmar (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] As the situation in Myanmar worsens, some expatriates and their families from domestic financial companies are returning home one after another this month.

According to the financial sector on the 13th, KB Kookmin Bank decided to temporarily bring back 4 of its 8 expatriates (4 from KB Myanmar Bank, 4 from KB MFI).

Although local employees and expatriates are working in shifts to maintain minimal operations, they judged that employee protection is a priority. They are currently looking into flight options, but the exact arrival date has not been set.

The returned employees will mainly handle tasks that can be managed remotely from Korea. They plan to return to Myanmar once the situation stabilizes.

Shinhan Bank also plans to bring back 1 of its 3 expatriates in Myanmar by the end of this month.

A Shinhan Bank official said, "To ensure the safety of local expatriates, we decided to withdraw 1 out of 3 expatriates."

Shinhan Bank's Myanmar branch was deeply shocked when a local employee was shot and killed. The Yangon branch was closed, and other employees are working remotely.

Woori Bank currently has 4 dispatched employees in Myanmar, including 1 at the office and 3 at the MFI corporation. Among them, 1 MFI corporation expatriate and all dispatched employees' families have been ordered to withdraw.

NH Nonghyup Bank also plans to bring back 1 of its 3 Myanmar corporation expatriates on the 27th of this month. Nonghyup Bank operates the Yangon office (1 local employee) and a microloan company (3 Koreans, 370 locals) locally.

Hana Bank currently has 2 expatriates working in Myanmar but is reportedly not yet considering a return plan.

Meanwhile, as of April, 25 domestic financial companies including banks, card companies, insurance, and capital firms have local corporations, branches, or offices in Myanmar.