韩国金融工会罢工反对国有银行迁离首尔，现场扰动有限

The Korean Financial Industry Union held a general strike rally on Sejong-daero in downtown Seoul's Gwanghwamun area to protest government moves to relocate state-run banks out of the capital.
Yoon Seok-gu, chairman of the Korean Financial Industry Union, said on the 4th that "there is talk that the government intends to move IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the Korea Development Bank and NH Nonghyup Bank to provincial areas." He added: "Looking at advanced economies overseas, they concentrate economic capacity in the capital. For the sake of South Korea's economy, they must remain in Seoul." He also said the union would "start with this first general strike and keep fighting to the end for working conditions and financial competitiveness." The union is also demanding a 4.5-day workweek, a 6.0% wage increase and an extension of the retirement age.
Organizers put the turnout at 30,000, while police unofficially estimated 14,000. Union members held placards reading "Block Relocation, Adopt the 4.5-Day Workweek" and chanted, "Let financial workers unite and win the general strike."
Participation was especially heavy among union members at the three state-run policy banks named as candidates for relocation. The union estimated that 4,000 employees from the Industrial Bank of Korea, 2,300 from the Korea Development Bank and 800 from the Export-Import Bank of Korea took part.
As employees joined the walkout, some branches in Seoul suspended operations. The Korea Development Bank's Jongno branch kept its blinds down and effectively turned away customers.
Branches of the Industrial Bank of Korea were relatively calm. At the bank's Seosomun branch, only two of 10 union members attended the rally, and at the Insa-dong branch just one of nine took part, causing little disruption. The bank had initially expected a significant share of its staff to join the strike and warned that "banking transactions may be delayed or some services limited on the day," but confusion on the ground was limited. An official at one of the policy bank unions said, "Along with a second strike at the industry union level, we will keep the option of a general strike at the individual union level open and review further action."
Financial regulators are also pressing strongly to stay in Seoul. The union at the Financial Supervisory Service delivered a petition on relocation signed by 1,720 employees to the presidential office the same day. Kim Sang-woo, chairman of the FSS union, said, "If the FSS and public financial institutions move to provincial areas, a weakening of the financial industry's competitiveness is all but certain," adding, "We are concerned that the physical distance from most financial consumers will grow, leaving us unable to respond effectively to consumer harm."