Survey: 70% of Young Employees Would Leave if Deposit Insurance Corporation Relocates

Concerns are rising that a potential relocation of the Deposit Insurance Corporation (DIC) could lead to a significant exodus of young employees. The low willingness of key 4th and 5th level staff to remain, coupled with potential disruptions in collaboration with financial authorities, has raised alarms.

Reports indicate that plans are being considered to move the Financial Services Commission and the DIC to Sejong.

According to a survey commissioned by the DIC labor union and conducted by the Law Firm Lin's Financial Law Research Center, only 24.1% of the 740 employees surveyed expressed a willingness to continue working after a relocation.

Younger employees showed a higher likelihood of leaving. Among the 4th and 5th level staff, who make up 70.2% of the workforce, only 9.5% of the 5th level employees in their 20s and 30s indicated they would stay, while 70% said they would not. For the 4th level employees, who are predominantly in their 30s and 40s, the willingness to remain was only 21.7%. Additionally, only 12% of employees with less than five years of service expressed intent to stay.

In contrast, over 55% of managers in their 50s and 52.8% of employees with more than 20 years of service indicated they would continue working. This suggests that younger employees with shorter tenures are more likely to leave if the relocation occurs.

The primary concerns for employees revolve around commuting conditions and issues related to their children's education and spouses' employment, with both factors affecting 93% of respondents. The fact that 99.2% of respondents reside in the Seoul and Gyeonggi-Incheon areas likely contributes to these concerns.

The potential loss of personnel could weaken the DIC's operational capabilities. About 86.1% of employees believe that collaboration with related agencies, such as the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, would suffer as a result of the relocation. Key tasks that could be impacted include inspections, joint inspections, decisions on handling insolvent financial institutions, risk notifications, and the payment of insurance to depositors.

The DIC is responsible for early detection of financial institution failures and coordinating responses with financial authorities. Close collaboration is essential for managing insolvent financial institutions, providing financial support, and protecting depositors. Concerns are growing that the departure of experienced staff, combined with reduced inter-agency collaboration, could slow crisis response times.

The research also concluded that the economic impact on the local area would be limited. As the DIC is a non-capital special corporation, its contribution to local taxes is minimal, and its fund management is restricted to safe assets such as government bonds, bank bonds, and deposits, making it difficult to translate into local investments.

The labor union plans to use the findings from this research to determine the level of opposition to the proposed relocation.