Kim Jong-in "Businesspeople who manage normally are right... Commercial Act and Fair Trade Act must be amended"

Quoting Schumpeter: "Companies that pursue profit while adhering to customs are patriotic companies"

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party. / Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, revealed his true feelings about corporate views as part of his usual belief in 'economic democratization.' Quoting American economist Joseph Schumpeter, Chairman Kim emphasized, "The most patriotic companies are those that pursue profits while adhering to the laws and customs set by the state." He also dismissed companies opposing the revision of the Commercial Act and the Fair Trade Act by saying, "They always say that," and defined it as "a matter separate from COVID-19," expressing his intention to push for it from the perspective of 'establishing the system.'

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 14th, Chairman Kim expressed that he could partially agree with the ruling Democratic Party's efforts to revise the Commercial Act and the Fair Trade Act. He said, "I think the Commercial Act and the Fair Trade Act need to be revised. During the review process of (the Democratic Party's bill), there will be parts to agree with and parts to oppose." He stressed the need to build trust with the public to shed the image of 'Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil' associated with the People Power Party.

He also stated that he would not be concerned about possible internal opposition. Chairman Kim said, "There are people within the party who do not fully agree with my approach or have complaints," but added, "What we can do is develop that based on our party platform and name change to instill trust in the public regarding our party." He expressed his determination to focus on revising related laws for economic democratization despite resistance from pro-business party members.

Regarding criticism that the Democratic Party's push for legal revisions is tightening restrictions on companies struggling due to COVID-19, he dismissed it by saying, "Companies always say that," and "The legal revisions are separate from COVID-19 and are a matter of system establishment." When asked if he had ever had conversations with businesspeople about this, he retorted, "What can a politician do by listening to companies?"

Chairman Kim also attracted attention by harshly criticizing the heads of conglomerates such as Samsung and Daewoo in his book. He said, "I believe that the most righteous people are those who manage companies properly," and "I condemn companies for engaging in wrongful acts based on their economic power." Referring to Schumpeter, famous for the theory of 'creative destruction,' he added, "According to Schumpeter, the most patriotic businesspeople are those who pursue profits while abiding by the laws and customs set by the country," and "They should not engage in any other acts."

Kim Jong-in is known as a 'preacher of economic democratization.' He joined the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, in 2012 and tried to promote economic democratization while supporting the launch of the Park Geun-hye administration, but was frustrated. He pointed out that during this process, the public lost trust in the Grand National Party, and that distrust has continued to this day.

Chairman Kim said, "(Former President Park) completely erased that promise after being elected, which ultimately led to the tragedy of the administration," and added, "What I fear is that since there has been an experience of breaking a promise once, the public worries, 'Those people are from the People Power Party, but do they make promises only to break them again?' There is a problem of trust."

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