[비즈한국] Moves to relocate the headquarters of the Korea Development Bank (KDB) to Busan Metropolitan City are gaining momentum once again. Should KDB move its headquarters to Busan, the Busan International Finance Center (BIFC) in Nam-gu is considered the primary candidate site. During the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the city of Busan pushed for a plan to relocate KDB to the BIFC. However, as the relocation plan lost steam under the Lee Jae-myung administration, the plot has remained a vacant lot with no designated use. If the relocation is realized as requested by Busan, attention will shift toward the development of the BIFC site, which is also expected to impact the local real estate market.
The plan to move KDB’s headquarters to Busan was initiated during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Former President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged to relocate the KDB headquarters to Busan during his campaign. However, the amendment to the Korea Development Bank Act could not pass the National Assembly due to opposition from the then-minority Democratic Party of Korea. The current Korea Development Bank Act explicitly states that "the headquarters shall be located in Seoul."
President Lee Jae-myung has expressed that instead of relocating KDB, he would establish a Southeast Region Investment Corporation in Busan. Nevertheless, the Busan community continues to demand the relocation of KDB. In August, Lee Sung-kwon, Chairman of the People Power Party’s Busan Metropolitan City Chapter, stated on social media, “The relocation of KDB to Busan is a core task for the city that can no longer be delayed,” adding, “We must pool our strength to complete the relocation of KDB, which has already been in progress, rather than pushing for the establishment of a Southeast Region Investment Corporation.”
The Busan Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice also emphasized in September that “the relocation of KDB is the final piece of the puzzle for completing Busan as a maritime capital and a maritime metropolitan area,” noting that “with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and major shipping companies already relocated to Busan, if KDB, the core of policy finance, remains in Seoul, field-oriented support and the speed of policy implementation are bound to suffer.”
Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo had previously mentioned during the local elections in June that the Southeast Region Investment Corporation was a more realistic alternative than relocating KDB. Recently, however, Mayor Jeon has also begun showing a positive attitude toward the relocation.
At a town hall meeting in September, Mayor Jeon revealed that he is discussing the KDB relocation with the government. Mayor Jeon explained, “The support needed by large shipping companies is not rent subsidies but ship finance. For instance, 90% of the cost of an LNG carrier, which is around 250 billion won, is covered by financing, but since domestic commercial banks do not handle shipping finance, they rely on foreign financial institutions,” adding, “This is why prioritizing the relocation of KDB to Busan is essential.”
Observers suggest that because Mayor Jeon, known as a pro-Lee figure, is personally pushing for it, the possibility of KDB’s relocation to Busan is not off the table. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea currently holds a majority with 161 seats in the National Assembly. If the government and the ruling party provide support, amending the KDB Act is entirely possible. Analysts also note that since the People Power Party has long supported the relocation, it is unlikely they would oppose it now.
If KDB moves to Busan, the BIFC area in Nam-gu is being discussed as the location. In 2022, during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, there was a plan to build a KDB headquarters on a site of approximately 17,000 square meters (about 5,142 pyeong) within the BIFC. As the relocation did not materialize, the land remains a vacant lot today. The site is owned by the Busan Urban Corporation.
The plot is considered a "prime piece of land" in Busan. The BIFC is located near Seomyeon, considered the largest downtown area in Busan, and is not far from Busan Station. As major financial firms are already tenants at the BIFC, the commercial area is well-developed. Key financial public institutions such as the Korea Exchange, Korea Securities Depository, Korea Asset Management Corporation, Korea Housing Finance Corporation, and Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation have their headquarters at the BIFC, and the BNK Financial Group, a representative financial firm for Busan, also has its headquarters right next to the BIFC.
Given this, critics argue that it is a waste to leave the BIFC site unused. While the primary reason the Busan community demands the KDB headquarters relocation is for balanced regional development, utilizing this site is also cited as a major factor.
Business Hankook visited the BIFC site on September 29. The lot was strewn with weeds and gravel, and a few buses were parked there. With cigarette butts and trash scattered here and there, the area appeared poorly maintained. A person surnamed A, who works at a company in the BIFC, said, "Because there are weeds and gravel, I have to walk around toward the sidewalk, which is quite inconvenient," adding, "Since this large plot isn't a park or a formal parking lot, as someone who walks by here every day, I think it would be great if some kind of facility were built."
The problem arises if the KDB relocation falls through or if the bank secures a building elsewhere. While the Busan Urban Corporation plans to develop the site in the long term, it must first recruit tenant companies. While KDB moving in would be the best-case scenario, the corporation must find alternatives if that doesn't happen. For the Busan Urban Corporation, the next phase of planning cannot begin until the status of the KDB relocation is finalized, and any delays in this decision will inevitably delay the development of the site.
The government is expected to announce its plans for the relocation of public institutions soon. As the political community has been demanding the relocation of KDB for a long time, expectations within the Busan community are reportedly high. Attention is now focused on whether the KDB relocation could serve as the catalyst for the Busan Urban Corporation to begin full-scale development of the BIFC.