Finance workers to strike for higher wages and shorter workweek demands

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Finance workers to strike for higher wages and shorter workweek demands

Published: 25 Sep. 2025, 11:43 Updated: 25 Sep. 2025, 20:02

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Members of the Korea Financial Industry Union hold a press conference at the Korea Federation of Banks building in Jung District, central Seoul, on Sept. 24, calling for real wage increases and the introduction of a four-and-a-half-day workweek ahead of a general strike on Sept. 26. [YONHAP]

Tens of thousands of finance workers will stage a one-day strike on Friday to demand higher wages and the introduction of a four-and-a-half-day workweek, the Korea Financial Industry Union (KFIU) said Wednesday.

The union said during a press conference outside the Korea Federation of Banks building in central Seoul on Wednesday that about 80,000 of its 100,000 members are expected to take part. The strike will last one day as a warning strike, with further action depending on how talks progress.

The union said it pushed for better pay and working conditions through sector-wide negotiations, but management offered only modest increases that do not reflect recent inflation.

“The union revised its demand to 3.9 percent to reach a settlement, but management still insists on 2.4 percent, which effectively cuts real wages,” KFIU Head Kim Hyung-sun said. “The industry reported record net profits, but workers received little in return.”

Kim also argued that just as the finance industry led the way in adopting the five-day workweek in 2002, it should now take the lead on a four-and-a-half-day system to address Korea’s falling birthrate and weak consumer spending.

“The heavy workload in the banking sector cut the number of children born to union households by more than 64 percent over the last eight years,” Kim said. “Shorter hours through a four-and-a-half-day week will help address low birthrates, regional decline and sluggish domestic demand. It is a strategy to revive the economy.”

Critics warn that introducing a shortened workweek in banks before other sectors could disrupt payments and settlements, especially on Fridays. Others say that highly paid finance workers are using strikes to gain leverage in broader social debates. The average annual salary for bank employees is 120 million won ($85,700), about double that of ordinary workers.

The union responded that it already proposed measures to minimize inconvenience for the public, such as adjusting weekday branch hours to 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from the current 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to reduce end of day congestion.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]