![Yoon Seok-gu, chairman of the Korea Financial Industry Union, speaks at a press conference held in front of Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday to denounce what the union called a hasty attempt to relocate state-run banks to the provinces. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/08/21/rcv.YNA.20260818.PYH2026081810240001300_P1.jpg)
About eight in 10 employees at the Financial Supervisory Service say they would quit if the regulator is relocated outside Seoul, amid the government's push to move central ministries and public institutions to the provinces.
According to a survey the Financial Supervisory Service labor union released Friday, 85.6 percent of the 1,538 employees surveyed said they would "consider" leaving if the agency's headquarters were moved. Of those, 69.7 percent said they would "actively consider" resigning.
Among employees under 40, the share saying they would consider leaving rose to 92.5 percent, with 82.5 percent saying they would actively consider it.
The union also surveyed employees in licensed professional roles. Among accountants, 90.6 percent said they would consider leaving, while the figure reached 94.2 percent among lawyers.
Some 99 percent of respondents said Seoul was the appropriate location for the Financial Supervisory Service's headquarters.
The union launched the internal survey Tuesday via the agency's intranet in protest of the government's relocation plan. It plans to hold a joint press conference with the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation union in front of Cheong Wa Dae on Monday morning to oppose the move.
The government is expected to announce its relocation plan for central ministries and public institutions as early as Tuesday. The Financial Services Commission, currently housed at the Government Complex Seoul, and the Financial Supervisory Service in Yeouido are both considered likely candidates for relocation, along with state-run lenders including Korea Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of Korea and Industrial Bank of Korea.
hyuk@heraldcorp.com
