[Interview] "Women Entrepreneurs Struggle More in Recession... We Will Create a Fair Competition World"

Han Mu-gyeong, Future Korea Party Proportional Representative Elected Member
Corporate and Economic Expert Who Founded a Car Parts Company at Age 40 and Grew It into a Mid-Sized Enterprise with Annual Sales of Several Hundred Billion Won

Han Mu-kyung, elected member of the Mirae Korea Party. / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Lee Ji-eun and Kim Hye-min] "When the economy is tough, women entrepreneurs face even greater difficulties. This is because they fall behind in mobilizing networks. I often think about how we can create a world where fair competition is possible even during recessions."

Han Mu-kyung, number 3 on the proportional representation list of the Future Korea Party, a proportional party of the United Future Party, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 27th of last month, "During my three years as president of the Korea Women Entrepreneurs Association, I heard many voices from women entrepreneurs. That was the most heartbreaking statement," she said.

She explained, "During economic booms, women entrepreneurs can somewhat keep up, but during recessions, they face more difficulties," adding, "This is because their networks are weaker compared to male entrepreneurs." She continued, "When the economy worsens, companies mobilize all kinds of networks to survive. Women entrepreneurs inevitably fall behind in sales," and added, "The recession caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is about to hit, so I am even more worried."

Han is a self-made woman entrepreneur. Until the age of 40, she lectured at a university, but in 1998, she acquired and founded an automobile parts company and jumped into business. She rapidly grew the company, which was just a small business in the Gyeongbuk region at the time, into a mid-sized group with annual sales in the hundreds of billions of won. Her key attributes are a businessperson who grew a small business into a mid-sized company, a woman entrepreneur, and a connection to local companies. These are relatively marginalized areas in Korea's corporate landscape.

Han stated that in the 21st National Assembly, she will leverage her experiences as a local business, small business, and woman entrepreneur to maximize her "major." She also expressed her ambition to pass the Women Small Business Foundation Act (tentative name) during her term. She is preparing to propose the Basic Economic and Social Act for Regional Revitalization (tentative name). She explained, "To grow Korea's economic scale, we need to develop the local economy while leaving the concentration in the metropolitan area as it is. We are devising measures to provide benefits so that companies move out of the metropolitan area and workers do not have to go there." Han said, "Rather than having the same minimum wage everywhere, if it varies by region and local government circumstances, the structure will naturally lead assembly-centered manufacturing, which requires many workers, to move to local areas. Instead, workers who have worked for more than 10 years should be given benefits when purchasing regional housing, giving them the dream that if they work in the provinces for about 10 years, they can own a home."

She predicted that although COVID-19 confirmed cases have plateaued, the economy will become more difficult. She viewed the period from June to July as when companies will start to struggle seriously. Han said, "COVID-19 started in mid-February, but exports were still possible then. However, now overseas markets have all closed, and consumption in the Korean market is rapidly decreasing due to social distancing," emphasizing, "Export capacity will significantly decline."

She diagnosed that ultimately, companies may face liquidity problems. She pointed out, "The timing of cash inflows from sales and payment outflows can differ, but if payments start to concentrate, companies will have no way to endure. The impact on small and medium enterprises could be greater than on large companies with ample internal reserves."

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