Business Community Issues Joint Statement: "Government's Amendments to the Commercial Act and Fair Trade Act Are Corporate Strangulation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The business community has expressed concerns over the government's proposed amendments to the Commercial Act and the Fair Trade Act, calling them "restrictions on corporate management."

On the 16th, six business organizations, including the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), issued a joint statement titled "Joint Statement from the Business Community on the Commercial Act and Fair Trade Act." In addition to FKI and KEF, the statement included participation from the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, the Korea Listed Companies Association, the KOSDAQ Association, and the Korea Association of Mid-sized Enterprises.

Through the joint statement, these organizations criticized, "The proposed amendments to the Commercial Act and Fair Trade Act currently pending in the National Assembly contain provisions that severely restrict corporate management activities," adding, "If the Commercial Act and Fair Trade Act are passed, threats to corporate management rights will increase, and funds that should be used for investment and job creation will be wasted on unnecessary share purchases, causing serious side effects."

They further pointed out, "The main contents of the amendments are Galapagos-like regulations that do not align with global standards. Their introduction will weaken the global competitiveness of our companies and, furthermore, have a serious negative impact on the national economy."

They also stated, "Countries around the world are focusing all efforts on deregulating businesses to overcome crises," emphasizing, "We too must prioritize deregulation that allows companies to freely invest and create jobs, and be cautious about amendments to the Commercial Act and Fair Trade Act that pour cold water on crisis recovery efforts. We hope that the business community's opinions will be actively reflected in this regular session of the National Assembly."

Earlier, on the 25th of last month, the Cabinet approved amendments to the Commercial Act, which include the introduction of derivative lawsuits and the separate appointment of audit committee members, as well as amendments to the Fair Trade Act, which include the abolition of the exclusive prosecution rights of the Korea Fair Trade Commission and doubling of fines for legal violations.

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