Nine out of 10 employees at Industrial Bank of Korea (024110) oppose moving the bank's headquarters out of Seoul, according to a union survey. Fewer than one in 10 said they would relocate with their families if the headquarters moved and their workplace changed.
Of those surveyed, 89.0% said they opposed the relocation, according to financial industry sources on the 9th, citing the results of a survey on employee perceptions of the headquarters relocation conducted recently by the Industrial Bank of Korea branch of the Korean Financial Industry Union. Opposition stood at 95.5% among headquarters staff and 83.5% among branch employees. The online survey covered 2,866 IBK employees from the 26th of last month through the 3rd of this month.
The most common reason for opposing the move was having to live apart from family, cited by 59.4% of respondents. That was followed by employee turnover and the loss of top talent (52.5%), a weakening of IBK's standing and competitiveness (52.3%), and the financial burden of moving house (51.9%). Respondents could select multiple answers.
A further 86.2% said they would not want to work at the headquarters if it moved out of Seoul, suggesting the bank could face disruptions in staffing if the relocation goes ahead.
The expected benefits of the move, such as revitalizing the local economy, also appear uncertain. Some 91.1% of respondents said they would move alone and leave their families behind even if their workplace changed. They cited children's schooling (38.1%) and spouses' jobs or dual-income arrangements (34.4%) as the main reasons. Caring for family and parents was cited by 25.4% and commuting and daily life issues by 25.0%.
The survey also revealed internal alarm that the move would erode IBK's fundamental competitiveness. Asked to rate the risks of relocation on a five-point scale, respondents gave the highest score to difficulty in recruiting top talent, at an average of 4.58 points. Departures of high-performing employees scored 4.55 points and a decline in IBK's standing 4.48 points.
Employees also questioned whether the government followed proper procedure in pursuing the move. They pointed to one-sided implementation without discussion with those affected as the biggest problem in the process, cited by 36.4%. That was followed by disregard for the characteristics of the financial industry (20.0%), a lack of evidence for the claimed regional development benefits (19.7%), and reneging on agreements made with financial-sector workers during the presidential election campaign (12.3%).
"The plan to move the headquarters out of Seoul is being pushed through while excluding the voices of workers and the front line," said Ryu Jang-hee, head of the IBK union. "The forced relocation plan, which could damage IBK's competitiveness, should be halted and an objective review of the policy's effects should come first."
