Bills on relocating public financial institutions to Busan have been proposed again in the 22nd National Assembly, following the government’s initiatives to establish the city as a global financial hub.
Recently, Rep. Lee Seong-kweun from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) motioned a bill to relocate the headquarters of the Industrial Bank of Korea, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. to Busan.
“To strengthen Busan’s position as the financial hub, major financial institutions should preemptively relocate to the city and foster a stable financial ecosystem,” Lee said.
The bill regarding the relocation of the Korea Development Bank (KDB), which failed to receive approval before the 21st National Assembly ended, has been proposed once again by Rep. Park Soo-young from the PPP.
“As soon as the 22nd National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee is formed, we will work with the government to continue persuading the 추천 National Assembly to achieve practical relocation efforts even before the revision of the KDB Act,” KDB Chairman Kang Seog-hoon said during a press conference on June 11, commemorating his second anniversary of inauguration.
“The relocation of KDB to Busan is a national project, emphasized multiple times by the president. No one would oppose the goal of making Busan a new growth engine,” Kang added.
KDB has already proposed its detailed plan for relocation to financial authorities, leaving a minimal workforce of 100 in Seoul.
However, the move is unlikely to gain momentum in the short term due to stark differences in interests. The current law specifies that 추천 each institution’s headquarters are located in Seoul, so their relocation would also require revisions to existing laws.
The opposing move is growing as well.
“Ignoring our bank’s operational nature and focusing solely on regional support is a reckless and dangerous decision that distorts the essence of the KDB, which is fulfilling its core mission across various sectors of the national economy,” the KDB labor union said in a statement.