Park Yong-man, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, "Change Laws and Systems to Open New Opportunities"

KCCI Holds Economic Community New Year's Meeting at COEX, Seoul

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park Yong-man, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), regarding the direction of economic policy for the new year, stated, "The biggest challenge this year is to boost private sector dynamism," and requested, "Please change laws and systems to open new opportunities."

On the 3rd, KCCI held the '2020 Economic Community New Year's Meeting' at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, attended by over 1,300 key figures from politics, government, business, labor, and foreign diplomatic missions in Korea.

In his greeting, Chairman Park said, "Despite difficult external conditions last year, we maintained a national income of $30,000 and $1 trillion in trade, and there were meaningful achievements in growth and employment recovery. Nevertheless, the vitality of the private sector significantly declined, causing great difficulties on the corporate front, and with confrontation and conflict becoming commonplace, we were unable to accelerate the healing of structural problems in the Korean economy, which remains regrettable."

Chairman Park identified "restoring private sector dynamism" as the top priority this year. He said, "Many foresee a 'narrow export path' this year due to the power struggles among major global powers, so we must open export routes abroad and investment routes domestically. The key lies in drastically changing the Korean economic system to create voluntary investment demand from companies."

He emphasized that changing laws and systems to open new opportunities is most important. He mentioned, "I spoke about regulatory platform reform here last year as well, but when I actually met with young people, the National Assembly, and the government, I often felt heavy-hearted and regretful. We need to reflect on whether laws and systems, designed during the development era, have solidified vested interests and even blocked risks to the extent that starting new industries is made difficult."

Furthermore, Chairman Park stated, "A fundamental shift in perception toward industry is necessary at a level that changes the fundamentals. By changing the framework of laws and systems to create new opportunities, and if young people who seize those opportunities grow into Korean versions of Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, the rules of the game in the corporate ecosystem will change, creating a virtuous cycle that leads to innovation and investment."

Chairman Park requested continuous efforts and cooperation from the government and National Assembly for structural reform of the Korean economy. He said, "I am pleased that the '2020 Economic Policy Direction' announced by the government last month contains many tasks for structural reform of the Korean economy. Many of these tasks are difficult to implement without the help of the National Assembly, so I hope the legislature will convene even within January to pass legislation related to new industries and economic revitalization."

He also expressed hope for grand harmony in the political sphere, saying, "I hope the political parties will unite on a grand scale. I ask that members of both ruling and opposition parties work hard to support the difficult national economy and the lives of the people."

Hosted by KCCI since 1962, the 'Economic Community New Year's Meeting' is the largest event in the economic sector, with major business leaders, government ministers, members of the National Assembly, foreign diplomatic missions in Korea, and representatives from social organizations, academia, and the media attending in large numbers.

At the event, high-ranking government officials attended, including Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Science and ICT Choi Ki-young, Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-gap, Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo, Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission Cho Sung-wook, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission Eun Sung-soo, Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy Kim Sang-jo, and Chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council Moon Sung-hyun.

From the business sector, attendees included KCCI Chairman Park Yong-man, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Yoon Boo-keun, Hyundai Motor President Gong Young-woon, SK President Jang Dong-hyun, LG Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo, Lotte Holdings Vice Chairman Hwang Kak-kyu, Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, Hyundai Heavy Industries Chairman Kwon Oh-gap, and Samyang Holdings Chairman Kim Yoon.

From regional chambers of commerce, attendees included Busan Chamber of Commerce Chairman Heo Yong-do, Daegu Chamber Chairman Lee Jae-ha, Incheon Chamber Chairman Lee Kang-shin, Ulsan Chamber Chairman Jeon Young-do, Ansan Chamber Chairman Kim Mu-yeon, Wonju Chamber Chairman Jo Chang-jin, Jeonju Chamber Chairman Lee Sun-hong, Changwon Chamber Chairman Han Cheol-soo, and Jeju Chamber Chairman Kim Dae-hyung.

From the political sector, major figures such as Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea; Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party; Sohn Hak-kyu, leader of the Bareunmirae Party; and Cho Bae-sook, floor leader of the Party for Democracy and Peace attended. From the labor sector, Kim Joo-young, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, was present. Foreign diplomatic missions included Harry Harris, U.S. Ambassador to Korea; Philippe Lefort, French Ambassador to Korea; Stefan Auer, German Ambassador to Korea; and Umar Hadi, Indonesian Ambassador to Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.