KB Kookmin Bank announced in October its decision to reduce its outsourced call center service providers from six to four, following which it issued new tender notices. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
DAEJEON, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Amidst an abrupt termination of contracts by KB Kookmin Bank with its call center service providers in the Daejeon area, a growing number of non-regular employees, primarily call center associates, are intensifying their protests demanding the invalidation of their layoffs and assurances for employment succession.
On December 12, union representatives, including those from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Daejeon Headquarters and KB Kookmin Bank call center employees, convened a press conference in front of the Daejeon Employment and Labor Office. They argued that the dismissal of approximately 240 employees from two call center service providers in the Daejeon area was akin to a “mass execution,” and urged for a guarantee of employment succession.
These call center employees had already held a press conference in front of the new building of KB Kookmin Bank in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, and continued their protests for the second consecutive day. They are also planning to request a meeting with Son Pil-hoon, the head of the Daejeon Employment and Labor Office, in the coming days.
According to the union, KB Kookmin Bank announced in October its decision to reduce its outsourced call center service providers from six to four, following which it issued new tender notices. Two service providers in the Daejeon area subsequently failed to win bids, leading to around 240 employees receiving layoff notices last month.
During the press conference, the call center employees expressed their frustrations, stating, “We have worked tirelessly for KB Kookmin Bank, often without even the time for bathroom breaks, and unable to fully utilize legally guaranteed annual leave.” They added, “While we held onto the hope that employment would continue despite changes in the contracting company, the bank itself has remained silent and unresponsive.”
They also criticized the bank’s reliance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for customer service, claiming that while AI development was facilitated using their customer interaction data, and simple queries were increasingly handled by AI, the complexity and difficulty of their tasks only grew. “The bank oversimplified the situation by claiming our workload decreased just because the number of calls dropped,” they argued.
The union has planned to continue its efforts, including holding more press conferences and meetings, and seeking dialogue with labor and administrative authorities to address these concerns.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
