Sejong-daero 4 lanes, occupied by union members
200 people were deployed on the scene, including the traffic police
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The National Union of Financial Industry Workers (hereinafter referred to as the Financial Union), which went on a general strike for the first time in six years, held a large-scale demonstration in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on the 16th.
About 13,000 people took part in the demonstration, including the executive branch of the financial union and members of 39 branches. Also present were the chairman of the two largest trade unions, the chairman of the industry / confederation of affiliated organizations and officials of civil society organizations.
The financial union called for a 5.2% wage increase rate and a reduction in working hours (a one-year trial of a 4.5-day work week system), an improvement in the pre-assessment system. -impact when shops are closed, an improvement in the wage peak system, suspension of innovation plans for public financial institutions and suspension of the relocation of industrial banks to Busan. Park Hong-bae, president of the financial union, raised his voice saying: “We must reduce the number of shops and jobs and defend the public nature of finance from financial users who risk their lives for shareholder dividends.”
Last year, the average annual salary of the four major commercial banks was 155 million won. There is an atmosphere that the industry cannot sympathize with the strikes by financiers who receive an average annual salary of around 100 million won and demand a wage increase and shorter working hours.
On the other hand, the demonstration caused severe traffic congestion in the Gwanghwamun area. A stage was set up in front of the Koreana Hotel and four lanes of Sejong-daero were occupied by union members. Around 200 people, including the traffic police, were sent to the scene to manage traffic by inducing detours, but the congestion could not be avoided. Indeed, at 10 am on the same day, according to the Seoul Traffic Information System (TOPIS), the speed of vehicles in the city dropped to 12 km / h.
After the Gwanghwamun rally, the union plans to march towards Samgakji Station on Line 4, so there is concern that traffic jams will spread around Sungnyemun, Seoul Station Rotary and Hangang-daero.
The police urged the police to “use public transport as much as possible such as the subway and to divert the congested section if driving a vehicle is unavoidable”. After the march, the financial union reads a resolution containing the main demands and dissolves it. The union also planned a second general strike on the 30th.
Journalist Jo Ara of Hankyung.com [email protected]
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