All-out war ‘Gimhae New Airport Musan’ to lure Gadeokdo by mobilizing BNK Financial Group and its employees

Enter 2020.11.20 06:00 | Revision 2020.11.20 06:41

Immediately after the New Gimhae Airport Verification Committee under the Prime Minister’s Office announced that it “ needs a fundamental overhaul ” at the New Gimhae Airport, a voice was heard in the passport calling for the re-implementation of the new airport on the island of Gadeokdo. BNK Financial Group (138930)Gadeok-do showed his willingness to participate in the attraction of the new airport through life or death.

According to the financial industry, on the 20th, BNK Financial Group decided to mobilize BNK Financial Group Chairman Kim Ji-wan, BNK Busan Bank Chairman Bin Dae-in, and thereafter outside directors to contribute to the efforts from the Busan community to attract a new airport in the southeastern region of Gadeok Island. If necessary, it is known that the company plans not to hesitate to hold a promotional event involving employees.

Although BNK Financial Group is the largest “local financial alliance” in the Busan area, the banking business, which is its main activity, is experiencing difficulties recently. During the first to third quarters of this year, net profit fell 15.5% compared to the same period last year. In contrast, the top four finance companies, including Shinhan and KB, posted net profits of several trillion won during the same period. If there is no such opportunity to regain growth engines, the view from the financial industry is that BNK Financial Group’s position in Busan is uncertain going forward.

According to the Korean corporate assessment statistics, Busan Bank accounted for 26% of loans and 32% of income received in Busan last year. Among them, the proportion of loans to SMEs exceeds 60%. Stability is difficult to maintain, like the top four financial banks dealing with large companies with high credit ratings.

For this reason, BNK has been actively supporting the construction of a new airport on Gadeokdo Island rather than expanding the existing Gimhae airport from the level of financial participation. Experts say that Gadeokdo Island is closer to the new Busan port than it is to Gimhae airport, so there is plenty of room for aviation and port logistics to create a synergy effect. This is why BNK, which has a lot of business related to the new Busan port among SMEs with credit relationships, is making efforts to attract new airports to Gadeok Island instead of the airport expansion plan. of Gimhae.

In the vicinity of Gimhae airport, rehabilitation or large-scale civil works are unnecessary, but a large amount of compensation is required to compensate for the damage caused by noise. On the other hand, Gadeokdo Island has to fill the sea to create new land, so it is worth waiting for the effect of falling water through the construction of the foundations and the recovery of the local economy.

“The biggest problem in the local economy is the construction of an entry airport in the southeast region filled with the wishes of the local population,” said BNK, president of Busan Bank, BNK Bin Dae-in, who participated in a conference held in Seoul last year. We have to cooperate. ”

In June this year, more than 150 Busan Bank employees rallied to show a performance of flying a folded paper airplane in the first floor lobby of the main branch.

As the battle to host airports intensified, Busan Bank branches showed enthusiastic support by putting up posters and promotional posters at businesses. At the time, all Busan Bank employees worked with tapes inscribed with the phrase to encourage new airports to be invited throughout their work, and some bank employees printed and pasted materials produced on their own on the exterior walls of the branches.

BNK Financial Group’s external director, Professor Kim Young-jae from the Department of Economics at Pusan ​​National University, is also known for supporting the outskirts of Busan by repeatedly insisting at home and abroad to increase efficiency. of Busan’s economic system focused on maritime logistics through the construction of a new airport.

A bank official in Busan said: “At the last Chuseok, we selected seaweed, a special product from Gijang, as a Chuseok gift provided by the bank, and put it in a bag to pray for the new Gadeokdo airport.” It is an atmosphere that gives enough force to emphasize the attractiveness of new airports, even further away ”.

Financial experts are coming under pressure from commercial banks based on the national sales network, and BNK Busan Bank, which has been hit by the recent rapid rise in Internet banks, is collapsing in the local economy due to slow growth. the shipbuilding and port industries. They say we should wait for the economic recovery effect.

Looking at the ‘2020 Southeast Region Economic Keywords (Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam)’ written by BNK Financial Research Institute, the Busan region public sentiment, which is a key consumer of BNK Busan Bank, also expresses considerable aspiration for the new airport. According to this survey, ‘New Airport’ ranked third after ‘Real Estate’ and ‘Shipbuilding Industry’. This is the result of ruling out “jobs”, “economic recovery” and “Korea-Japan relations.”

Principal Investigator Lee Byung-yoon of the Financial Research Institute said: “Recently, traditional industries based in local regions such as shipbuilding, automobiles and machinery have declined, and high-tech knowledge industries that have become they are concentrating on new growth engines in the metropolitan area. ” The proportion of loans to SMEs is high, but it is a factor that rapidly deteriorates profitability during the economic recession.