Park Yong-man, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, "Time for Government and Business to Strongly Respond to 'Novel Coronavirus'"

'New Coronavirus-Related Business Meeting'
"Great Concern Over How Far Economic Impact Will Go"

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Park Yongman, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), on the 7th, regarding the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), requested, "I ask the government to proactively work on how to overcome the expected economic impact by distinguishing between micro-level measures by type and comprehensive macro-level measures."

Chairman Park said at the 'Meeting with Business Leaders on the Novel Coronavirus' held at the KCCI building in Jung-gu, Seoul, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, "There is considerable fear of the spread of infection around us, and we business leaders are very concerned about how far the economic repercussions of this situation will go."

Chairman Park emphasized that "We are at a point where we must respond preemptively and strongly, focusing on how and what measures to take to reduce the expected economic damage," and stressed that the government and the business community must overcome the crisis together.

The KCCI categorized the types of damage related to the novel coronavirus into four major groups based on opinions from member companies of regional chambers of commerce. Specifically, these are ▲ intermediate goods exporters (accounting for 80% of exports to China) ▲ domestic finished goods companies unable to procure parts ▲ companies experiencing disruptions related to investments in China ▲ domestic companies facing sales declines due to deteriorating consumer sentiment.

Chairman Park explained, "This incident seems to cause greater damage than past infectious diseases," adding, "According to experts, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) mainly affected 'exports,' Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) concentrated damage on 'domestic demand,' but now there are many assessments that both 'exports and domestic demand' will suffer a combined impact."

He further diagnosed, "Especially China is our largest trading partner. Our export share to China was about 16% in 2003 when SARS occurred, but now it is approaching 27%." Chairman Park noted that during this period, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea increased more than tenfold (510,000 → 6.02 million), but with Chinese factories halting operations, travel cut off, and the previously improving export decline trend reversed, it is difficult to expect a short-term revitalization of the domestic economy.

Chairman Park requested, "The government is emphasizing proactive efforts, and the National Assembly will soon hold a special committee related to the February extraordinary session. I ask for special attention to legislative activities that help resolve the situation and boost economic vitality, regardless of party lines."

He also urged restraint from direct criticism of China. Chairman Park said, "I would like to say that our society should refrain from avoidance or harsh criticism of China," emphasizing, "This is inappropriate regardless of whether the counterpart is China or anyone else, and Korea and China are very important partners connected by the FTA and are each other's closest neighbors."

In conclusion, Chairman Park said, "Swift resolution of the situation in China is the way to minimize damage to our companies," adding, "I hope that not only in terms of economic growth but also in national disasters or crises, we recognize ourselves as a community and respond rationally to overcome the current difficulties together."

Meanwhile, the meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, Blue House Policy Chief Kim Sang-jo, Chairman Park, as well as heads of major economic organizations such as Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Kim Young-joo, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association. From the business community, Hyundai Motor President Gong Young-woon, Lotte Vice Chairman Hwang Gak-gyu, CJ Vice Chairman Park Geun-hee, and Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin attended.

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