700 Financial Supervisory Service employees gather in black clothing…Financial Services Commission shows signs of 'exodus'

Hundreds of Financial Supervisory Service employees gather "Revoke separation of the Financial Consumer Protection Agency·Revoke public institution designation"

Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin silent

Financial Services Commission employees vent anonymously

Opposition among employees of the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service over the restructuring of the financial supervisory system is spreading widely. In reaction to the planned separation of the Financial Consumer Protection Agency and the announcement of its designation as a public institution, 700 Financial Supervisory Service employees dressed in black and staged collective action, while Financial Services Commission employees, suddenly facing relocation to Sejong, poured out complaints on anonymous boards and urged a response to the organizational dismantling.

Financial Supervisory Service employees holding placards, collective action intensifies

On the 9th, around 700 employees at the Financial Supervisory Service gathered in the first-floor lobby at 8 a.m. before starting work, wearing black clothes and holding a rally opposing the organizational restructuring. This is 30% of all employees.

Employees held placards reading "Revoke the separation of the Financial Consumer Protection Agency" and "Revoke the public institution designation" and chanted slogans for about 50 minutes. Those who could not enter the lobby gathered on the second and fourth floors and also chanted slogans together.

In a free speech, one employee pointed out, "As those who work on the front line of financial consumer protection and have the most know-how, was even a single line of our organization's opinions reflected in this organizational restructuring?" Another employee said, "Immediate side effects such as employees' livelihoods, food, and career management deterioration are visible, and we cannot accept a demand to comply unconditionally without communication."

One employee holding a placard told Hankyung.com, "I had hoped the Governor and the Senior Deputy Governor would voice opposition, but it's frustrating that the atmosphere is one of passive acquiescence," and added, "Even for the Financial Services Commission, Sejong would be an acceptable level, but I'm worried that conversion to a public institution would force us to relocate to the provinces."

On the way to work, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin also encountered protesting employees. Governor Lee did not answer reporters' questions such as "Please state your position on the organizational restructuring" and "Do you have nothing to say to the employees?" and moved via the dedicated elevator.

The government reorganization plan confirmed over the past weekend included reorganizing the Financial Services Commission into the Financial Supervisory Commission and placing the Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Consumer Protection Agency under it as public institutions. With the announcement not only of the separation of the Financial Consumer Protection Agency but also of its designation as a public institution, discontent among Financial Supervisory Service employees intensified.

The Financial Supervisory Service union formally requested a meeting with Governor Lee that day and sought a promise to form an emergency measures committee related to the organizational restructuring. Jeong Bo-seop, the union's senior deputy chair (acting union chair), said, "There was even a proposal to call for a full strike," and added, "To proceed with a strike vote, we must hold a delegates' meeting, and according to internal rules, forming the meeting and submitting agenda items takes about a week, so we need to watch the situation until next week."

The union also planned a 10-minute silent placard protest at the "All-Financial Sector Roundtable on Financial Consumer Protection Governance" held on the 9th floor of the headquarters that day. Governor Lee Chan-jin and securities company CEOs (chief executives) will attend.

The previously quiet anonymous board becomes 'noisy'… Financial Services Commission employee says "feels betrayed"

Employees of the Financial Services Commission, whose organization was slated for dissolution, are also showing strong opposition. The Financial Services Commission has fewer than 300 employees and lacks a labor union, making it difficult to speak with one voice. Nevertheless, unusually for a civil service organization, complaints are pouring out through internal anonymous boards. Internal unrest appears to be spreading over personnel and conditions changes caused by the organizational dissolution and relocation to Sejong.

On the previous afternoon, an employee posted on the internal anonymous board used by Financial Services Commission staff. The employee wrote, "I hope the criteria for departmental allocation and future plans are finalized quickly and shared 'equally' with Financial Services Commission members," and added, "For the past roughly three months, we've endured hearing various rumors about the reorganization, but it's become unbearable. Is it reasonable that external parties hear the rumors before most internal members?"

About 30 Financial Services Commission employees commented on and agreed with the post.

One employee said, "Uncertainty is the most painful. Please quickly share with everyone how the organization will be dissolved and divided before feelings become more hurt," adding, "Everyone is becoming extremely sensitive." Another employee wrote, "After working hard to achieve results, this is how it turns out — it feels like being betrayed and mocked," and added, "For employees who will inevitably go to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, there should be safeguards regarding posting pathways and housing support measures."

With the Financial Services Commission being absorbed into the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the majority of personnel will have to move their bases to Sejong. Only some staff absorbed into the Financial Supervisory Commission will remain in Seoul. Employees shared various opinions about which personnel should go to the Financial Supervisory Commission. One employee said, "We should decide by lottery who stays and who leaves," but another said, "Rather than a lottery (whose fairness is difficult to verify), it would be better to set rational criteria based on job duties to divide positions; introduce a lottery only when division is difficult."

One employee said, "If the situation cannot be changed, I would like the number of staff assigned to the Financial Supervisory Commission to be as large as possible." He said, "There must be an appropriate allocation of functions and responsibilities between the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Financial Supervisory Commission," adding, "Otherwise, the Financial Supervisory Commission could become an organization with vast institutions and responsibilities to control but nothing it can do, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, detached from the market, could become an agency with power and resources but no clear mandate."

Some employees were at a loss amid the piled-up issues. Initially, under the stance of "work quietly and show results," the Financial Services Commission responded to various rumors about the reorganization. Recently, with Lee Eok-won appointed as Financial Services Commission Chairman alongside Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin, expectations within the Financial Services Commission rose that "surely they wouldn't dismantle it." Additionally, because President Lee Jae-myung had publicly praised the Financial Services Commission's achievements repeatedly, employees' sense of emptiness is greater.

One employee commented, "They said they'd revive the organization and started too many initiatives, honestly it's overwhelming and hard, so how can we get all this work done amid the (disruptive) organizational restructuring?" Another employee wrote, "Whether I will go to the Ministry of Economy and Finance or the Financial Supervisory Commission...I can't focus on work."

There were many comments requesting "allow unilateral transfers." This is the so-called sign of an "exodus" (large-scale departure). When vacancies occur, civil servants post recruitment notices in the relevant ministries, but in the case of the Financial Services Commission, even if an employee wishes to move, approval from vice ministers and the personnel department is not easily granted. Therefore, employees are requesting that unilateral transfers to other ministries be made possible at their request.

Earlier, Kwon Dae-young, the Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman, held a session the previous afternoon to explain the reorganization to all Financial Services Commission staff and to hear their opinions. It was divided into three sections: section chiefs, administrative officers, and others. A Financial Services Commission official said, "Because it's a civil service organization, collective action like at the Financial Supervisory Service would not be easy," adding, "Even the anonymous board is usually quiet due to concerns about identity exposure, so this is the first time I've seen such a flood of denunciation posts in such a short time."

Shin Min-kyung/Jin Young-gi Hankyung.com reporters radio@hankyung.com