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The nation's financial system is expected to be thrown into turmoil as an absolute majority of bank workers voted to go ahead with the strike scheduled for Monday.

About 90 percent of bank employees approved the proposal to strike on July 11 to protest government plans to reorganize commercial banks, the Korean Federation of Bank and Financial Labor Unions (KFBU), organizer of the strike, said yesterday.

As a consequence, 65,000 workers at 24 banks and other related agencies would begin their strike, the KFBU said. About 80 percent of workers at private and state banks are members of the federation.

But Hana and KorAm banks decided not to join the strike.

At the press conference held at the Korean Federation of Trade Unions (KFTU) building, the KFBU blamed the government for not having made any efforts to solve the problem through ``sincere dialogue.''

KFBU chairman Lee Yong-deuk, however, hinted that there is still room to discuss with the government how to solve the problem and a meeting should include economy ministers and leaders of the KFBU.

The KFBU would not appear at the meeting on Friday arranged by the Tripartite Committee among the government, labor and management since the committee has failed to serve as a body allowing participants to address their problems themselves, he added.

Lee also said economic ministers should resign for their policy failures and a public hearing should be held to overhaul the restructuring programs in the financial sector.

In a statement, the KFBU claimed the government should not drive banks into forced mergers under a projected financial holding company.

In connection with the decision of the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearing Institute to join the strike, Bank of Korea governor Chon Chul-hwan visited the institute yesterday to persuade the unionists there to refrain from walking out, saying the strike at KFTC means the collapse of the nation's financial system. The KFTC is responsible for the clearance of checks and promissory notes.

In the meantime, the government renewed its determination to get tough with the financial unionists' strike.

At the minister-level meeting presided by Prime Minister Lee Han-dong yesterday, government officials decided to make every effort to prevent the strike from going ahead.

But the government would not accept the unionists' demand that the financial holding company bill be scrapped.

The government would map out some measures to cope with any technical glitch possibly caused by strike, a high-ranking official said.

Since the real intention of the financial holding company is not slashing organizations or manpower, but enhancing the competitiveness of the financial institutions, the unionists' claims have no ground, he added.

According to a KFBU report, since the nation was hit by a financial crisis in late 1997, more than 40,000 bank workers have lost their jobs due to mergers and about 10 banks were closed.