The chief of the state-run Korea Development Bank said the plan to relocate its headquarters from Seoul to Busan is underway, despite the continued resistance from its employees.

“The relocation to Busan is not to reduce or substitute the functions of the bank, but to add a new role of encouraging the revival of the southeastern region of Korea. We will come up with an organization and operating system fit for the role,” KDB Chairman Kang Seog-hoon said at a press conference held in western Seoul on Tuesday.

The conference was held in commemoration of Kang taking office a year ago. Kang, former presidential secretary for economic affairs, took the chairman title of the policy lender in early June 2022.

The government has been pushing for the KDB to relocate to the southeastern port city of Busan for the balanced growth of non-Seoul areas. Its headquarters is currently situated in Yeouido, western Seoul, an area regarded as Korea’s financial hub.

Many employees under the state-run bank have vociferously opposed its relocation to the country's second largest city of Busan.

“Though I want to discuss how moving to Busan can be an opportunity for the KDB to take a new leap, employees want me to promise that the KDB will not go to Busan,” he said. “I am not in the position to discuss that.”

Earlier this year, the KDB requested an accounting firm to look over the possible effects of the relocation. The firm was asked to evaluate how the move would affect the local economy and the bank's existing functions. The results of the firm’s findings are to be released soon.

At the conference, Kang also commented on the ongoing merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, South Korea's No. 1 and No. 2 air carriers, respectively. The KDB is the Asiana’s main creditor.

The chief said the merger process is likely to wrap up soon, as the results will come out within this year.

“We expect the results to come out in the third quarter at the least.” Kang said.

As of June, Korean Air is waiting for Japan, the European Union and the US to approve the merger, as they have yet to do so.

“There is no plan B if the merger falls apart,” Kang said. “This is not the time to talk about what will happen if the deal fails. It is the time to do everything we can for the merger.”