As the government lifted the indoor mask mandate for most locations on Monday, financial institutions, including banks, resumed pre-pandemic operation hours for the first time in around a year-and-a-half.

Banks opened at 9:00 a.m. and were set to operate through 4:00 p.m. instead of 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The shortened hours were implemented from July 2021, when social distancing rules were tightened.

The labor union, however, remains opposed to normalized hours, claiming the management unilaterally made the decision. They are demanding operating hours to be reduced by 30 minutes, while allowing some branches to operate past 4 p.m.

The union plans to seek legal steps, including a court injunction against the operation normalization.