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| Union members of the Korea Development Bank stage protest against the banks relocation plan to Busan, near the presidential office in Seoul, March 10. Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
The controversial relocation plan of Korea Development Bank (KDB) is taking shape, as the state-run lender prepares to take specific administrative steps by the end of June.
According to a KDB report submitted to Rep. Kang Min-kuk of the ruling People Power Party, the bank has formulated its relocation plan from Seoul to the nation's southeastern port city of Busan.
The bank will seek consultations for the plan until May and submit a specific relocation vision to the relevant authorities around June, according to the report. The lender also stressed the need to revise the KDB Act for the smooth progress of relocation.
"We face difficulty in mapping out specific relocation plans due to backlash from employees and revision of the law," KDB said in the report.
The bank must be legally designated as an institution for relocation, as part of the first administrative step for the move.
But it still remains unclear whether KDB will be able to proceed with the plan as scheduled amid fierce protest from within the organization and difficulties in revising the KDB Act in a timely manner.
KDB said it will take additional administrative steps in line with the revision of the act.
"The KDB Act stipulates that its headquarters should be located in Seoul, so we cannot take any further practical steps until the law is revised," the lender said.
KDB's management planned to hold a briefing session with employees at its Seoul headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, but the meeting was canceled amid strong opposition from employees.
The KDB union expressed regret, saying KDB's "unfair and unilateral" move toward the relocation drive will never be realized without consent from union members.
"The ongoing relocation drive is a move to overstep the authority of the Assembly," the union said in a statement. "We urge KDB's management to stop taking further relocation steps, as the decision is being made without any negotiation with the union."
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