Recently, the Industrial Bank of Korea announced its own reform plan after discovering 882 billion won worth of improper loans, and is now experiencing labor disputes. The bank's union pointed out that the reform plan shifts responsibility onto employees and that union executives decided to pool their personal funds to reward up to 10 million won for reports of misconduct by management.
According to the financial industry on the 15th, the previous day, the Industrial Bank of Korea's union announced a notice regarding reporting misconduct by management within a maximum of three years targeting all employees. The reward amounts range from at least 100,000 won for a grade 5 report to a maximum of 10 million won for a grade 1 report, depending on the evaluation score. The scores are divided into quantitative assessments based on ranks and qualitative evaluations based on misconduct and reliability. For instance, misconduct by the bank president is worth the highest 20 points, while an executive director or vice president earns 15 points, and a Deputy Minister earns 10 points.
The union explained that it would accept reports of all illegal and unethical acts, including embezzlement, breach of fiduciary duty, sexual misconduct, and harassment, targeting the bank president, executive director, vice president, and Deputy Minister. They also added that the identity of whistleblowers would be thoroughly protected anonymously. The union emphasized, "Through this misconduct reporting, we will identify the real culprits behind the improper loan incident and achieve innovation."
Prior to this, the union and employees of the Industrial Bank of Korea expressed dissatisfaction with the 'IBK reform plan' presented by President Kim Sung-tae on the 26th of last month. In particular, the most criticized aspect of the reform plan involved creating a database (DB) of employees' relatives' information and requiring a certification of improper loan prevention to be submitted by the responsible employee for each loan. There were criticisms that the DB lacks feasibility and that the certification shifts responsibility onto branch staff.
Additionally, the wage and collective bargaining negotiations, which have failed to reach a compromise for four months, are also connected to the current misconduct reports. The Industrial Bank of Korea's union has set the period for reporting management's misconduct from the previous day until the completion of the collective negotiations. The negotiations have been struggling for months due to the Ministry of Economy and Finance's budget guidelines for public institutions.
The Industrial Bank of Korea, categorized as a public institution according to the Act on the Operation of Public Institutions, is subject to the 'total payroll system.' This system allows for payroll to be calculated only within the upper limit of the annual increase rate set by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The management stated that they are unable to accommodate the union's demands for wage increases and special bonuses because they calculate wages under the total payroll system. In contrast, the union argues that the government has set wages for the Industrial Bank of Korea 30% lower than those of commercial banks, and claims there are unpaid overtime amounts of about 6 million won per employee.
Previously, the union announced plans to hold a resolution meeting on the morning of the 16th in front of the Euljiro headquarters, with members including headquarters staff participating. The union intends to condemn the management's resignation, wage and collective agreement, as well as the hastily prepared reform plan. It is reported that several members of the National Assembly, including the Chairperson of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions, the Chairperson of the Financial Union, and lawmakers Jeon Hyun-hee, Park Hong-bae, Shin Jang-sik, Cha Kyu-geun, Jung Tae-ho, and Han Chang-min, will attend.
An official from the Industrial Bank of Korea's union commented, "There is no reflection from management regarding the improper loans, and instead, they are blaming employees who uncritically follow orders. The root cause of the situation lies not with the employees but with management's low sense of ethics and responsibility. Through this misconduct report reception, we will prevent and manage the organization's crisis."