South Korea's KorAm Bank, owned by Citigroup Inc, said on Sunday it will take measures to minimise the impact of a strike, called by unions demanding job security and opposing bank plans to delist.
KorAm will delay defaults and exempt overdue interest if customers go bankrupt during the strike, and some branches will be kept open, said a spokesman, quoting bank President Ha Young-ku as saying at a news conference.
The indefinite strike, which started late on Friday, is being supported by around 2,400 out of 2,700 union members, a union official told Reuters.
No negotiations have been held to end the strike, the first in KorAm's 21-year history, the bank spokesman said.
KorAm will also take measures to make sure its computing system continues operating during the disruption, he added.
Citigroup, the most active US bank in Asia, owns 97.5 percent of South Korea's sixth-largest lender after it completed a public tender for a majority of shares in late April.
KorAm is seeking a delisting from the Korea Stock Exchange, subject to shareholders' approval on July 9.
Shares of KorAm bank fell 0.3 percent to 15,500 won on Friday, compared with a 2.1 percent rise in the benchmark index.
South Korea faces a tough bargaining season with unions every summer, but industrial action this year poses an even bigger problem for a government struggling to boost depressed local spending and lift business investment to spur higher growth.
Foreign investors view labour unrest in South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, as a major barrier to investment.
Unionised workers at South Korea's top car maker, Hyundai Motor Co, downed tools on Friday to seek higher wages, while unions at Kia Motors and Ssangyong Motor Co voted in favour of strike action.
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