Financial Services Commission Chairman and KDB President Request Parliament's Support for KDB Relocation to Busan (Comprehensive)

April 13 Industry Bank Busan Relocation Meeting Held at National Assembly

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport "Industry Bank to be Designated as 'Busan Relocation Public Institution' by End of April"

Industry Bank Opposes Determining Headquarters by Articles of Incorporation as Proposed by Opposition Party

On the 13th, the plenary committee meeting for reviewing the resolution on improving the parliamentary election system was held at the 4th session of the 405th National Assembly (extraordinary session) at the National Assembly. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Kim Ju-hyun, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, stated regarding the relocation of the Korea Development Bank (KDB) to Busan, "I believe two efforts are necessary to obtain policy approval amid the blessings of all citizens, as the KDB holds great national significance." He added, "First, the Industrial Bank Act must be amended to keep the KDB headquarters in Seoul, and secondly, a consensus should be formed through smooth labor-management consultations related to the relocation efforts."

Chairman Kim conveyed this on the morning of the 14th at a meeting on the KDB Busan relocation held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, saying, "Currently, the KDB is conducting consulting to determine the necessity and direction of the regional relocation. Once the results are out, we will swiftly prepare a concrete relocation plan after consultations with employees and stakeholders, so we ask the National Assembly to actively support this." The meeting was attended by members of the People Power Party representing Busan constituencies and government officials.

Lee Won-jae, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "We plan to request the National Balanced Development Committee to review the designation of the KDB as a relocating public institution today." He added, "Once the review is completed, we aim to officially designate and announce the KDB as a Busan relocation public institution by the end of April. Since the KDB's relocation to Busan is a promise made to the people as part of the national agenda, we will actively promote it without delay."

Kang Seok-hoon, President of the KDB, also stated, "The biggest task is for the National Assembly to form a consensus and amend the legal provisions." He added, "The KDB is preparing consulting to strengthen policy finance capabilities following the Busan relocation, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of May."

Busan constituency lawmakers also expressed their commitment to actively promote the KDB relocation. Assemblyman Jeon Bong-min said, "The Democratic Party and the KDB labor union claim that proceeding with the Busan relocation before amending the Industrial Bank Act's Seoul headquarters clause is illegal, but this is a clear false claim." He explained, "In the case of the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, which relocated to Daegu under the first public institution regional relocation plan in July 2005, the law was amended in January 2015 after the relocation was completed."

Assemblyman Kim Hee-gon said, "There has been severe conflict between the KDB labor and management, so the Prime Minister's Office was asked to take the role of control tower, overseeing Seoul City, Busan City, the Financial Services Commission, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport altogether. The Prime Minister agreed to do so." He added, "It seems that the KDB, Financial Services Commission, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are progressing well, so I feel somewhat reassured today."

Assemblyman Cho Kyung-tae emphasized, "It is truly regrettable that the labor union is trying to undermine the spirit of national balanced development and the constitutional spirit." He stressed, "The President's pledge to relocate the KDB to Busan must be upheld."

Ruling party lawmakers from Busan reportedly began reviewing the amendment bill to the Industrial Bank Act proposed by Democratic Party Assemblyman Song Ki-heon after the Democratic Party opposed the KDB Busan relocation. Song's amendment replaces Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the current Industrial Bank Act, which states, "The headquarters of the KDB shall be located in Seoul Special City," with "The location of the KDB headquarters shall be determined by the articles of incorporation," allowing the headquarters to be relocated.

However, there is a risk that the Busan relocation may be uncertain. The amendment proposed by Democratic Party Assemblyman Kim Du-kwan, which states that "the headquarters of policy banks such as the KDB shall be located in the Republic of Korea," faces a similar situation. Due to strong opposition from the Democratic Party, it is currently expected to be difficult for the amendment proposed by People Power Party Assemblyman Seo Byung-soo, which explicitly sets the KDB headquarters in Busan, to pass.

Immediately after the meeting, Assemblyman Lee Joo-hwan told reporters, "In principle, amending the Industrial Bank Act to locate the headquarters in Busan is something we must strongly pursue, and we are considering Assemblyman Song Ki-heon's bill and other proposals as ideas." However, he added, "The KDB side is also worried that if the headquarters location is determined by the articles of incorporation, it could be unstable whenever the government changes, so there are many concerns about that."