Chairman Son Kyung-sik: "Labor Market Renewal is Key to Competitiveness in the Post-Corona Era"

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, emphasized the need for a 'Renewal of the Labor Market' to prepare for the labor market in the 'post-COVID-19' era, as the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) comes to an end.

On the 14th, Chairman Sohn highlighted this at the 'Labor and Labor-Management Relations Sector Management Development Advisory Committee' held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul. Sohn said, "In the new industrial environment of the post-COVID-19 era, the core is the 'renewal of the labor market' to save companies and employment and enhance global competitiveness by establishing a flexible labor market and cooperative labor-management relations."

He mentioned that to respond to the post-COVID-19 era, where individual activities in a non-face-to-face manner are emphasized, establishing cooperative labor-management relations and a flexible labor market is more important than anything else.

Chairman Sohn stressed, "To strengthen national competitiveness, it is necessary to improve labor laws and systems that meet global standards. Reforming the wage system centered on jobs and performance, expanding flexible working hour systems such as the flexible work system and selective work system should be prioritized, and institutional improvements are also needed to spread flexible work methods such as remote and telecommuting."

Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation

Furthermore, on this day, Chairman Sohn mentioned that overcoming the current global economic crisis caused by COVID-19 requires 'job preservation' by companies through a grand labor-management compromise as the most important task. He emphasized, "To overcome the twin crises of public health and the economy, comprehensive government support measures and labor-management compromises on wages and employment are needed, requiring cooperation among labor, management, and government to protect companies and jobs."

He pointed out, "Amid concerns of the worst economic recession since World War II due to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea, which ranks among the highest in external dependence, is experiencing unprecedented real economic shocks and employment sluggishness as export damages become full-fledged. Now, the most urgent task is to protect jobs through 'saving companies.'"

He added, "Since the current crisis is largely due to external, force majeure factors beyond companies, companies alone cannot physically bear the cost of maintaining employment. The government and all economic actors must share the burden together."

Chairman Sohn explained the current situation on the ground, where some companies' total sales do not even cover labor costs, saying, "Various government employment support policies are continuously being expanded and implemented, and labor and management must share the pain together." He added, "The business community will actively participate if a forum for social dialogue to overcome the economic crisis is established."

Meanwhile, at the Management Development Advisory Committee on this day, presentations and free discussions continued under the theme of 'COVID-19 and the Employment Labor Market.' Professor Park Young-beom of Hansung University’s Department of Economics, who gave the keynote presentation, announced that structural unemployment will increase alongside industrial restructuring as deglobalization and digitalization accelerate due to COVID-19.

Professor Park emphasized, "Jobs must be created by the market, not the government," and presented major labor reform tasks including improving labor laws from the era of smokestack factories centered on manufacturing to flexible and digital era labor laws, establishing social safety nets to protect vulnerable groups outside the institutional framework, policies to bring back companies that have moved overseas (U-turn company policies), and social agreements based on concessions by large company labor unions.

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