Korea Employers Federation and Lee Nak-yeon Discuss Amendments to 'Three Corporate Regulation Laws' in Meeting

Lee In-yong, Jang Dong-hyun, Kim Chang-hyun 'Shared Economy, Shared Future' Also Taking Notes
Business Community Expects Exclusion from 3% Rule in Commercial Act... Expanding Communication Between Korea Employers Federation and Democracy Research Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] "I have only prepared a brief greeting." "We had a very comfortable and extensive conversation."

At 9 a.m. on the 6th, at the entrance of the Korea Employers Federation (KEF) building in Mapo-gu. The meeting with Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was scheduled to start at 10 a.m., but the CEOs of the six major conglomerates arrived an hour early. First, Oh Seong-yeop, CEO of Lotte Holdings, took the elevator, and within 30 minutes, Kim Chang-beom, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Solutions; Lee In-yong, President of Samsung Electronics; Hwang Hyun-sik, President of LG Uplus; Gong Young-woon, President of Hyundai Motor; and Jang Dong-hyun, President of SK Inc., headed to the 8th-floor meeting room in succession. This scene shows how seriously the business community regarded this meeting.

CEOs of Six Major Conglomerates Take Notes and Organize Concerns During Meeting

Kim Yong-geun, full-time vice chairman of KEF, busily went back and forth between the 1st floor and the 8th-floor meeting room to guide the CEOs to the reception room, while Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik had a separate tea time with Lee Nak-yeon and other ruling party officials in the chairman’s office.

Before the meeting, when asked which clause in the amendment they were particularly paying attention to, President Hwang Hyun-sik said, "I have only prepared a brief greeting." President Lee In-yong also avoided answering, saying, "We need to talk and see."

The atmosphere of the meeting that day was quite different from usual. The CEOs of the six major conglomerates nodded and took notes seriously while Lee Nak-yeon delivered his greeting.

President Lee In-young carefully reviewed the "Business Community Opinions on the Amendment" materials prepared internally by KEF, and President Gong Young-woon wrote on a memo pad: "Commercial Act / Fair Trade Act / External Accounting System / Disclosure System / Stewardship System." President Hwang Hyun-sik took out a personal notebook and organized issues related to GS Retail.

Interestingly, Presidents Lee In-yong, Jang Dong-hyun, and Vice Chairman Kim Chang-beom all wrote down the phrase "Economy Together, Future Together," which Lee Nak-yeon mentioned, drawing attention. In addition, President Jang Dong-hyun also wrote the phrase "Co-prosperity between Large and Small-Medium Enterprises."

Possibility of Excluding 3% Rule Application... Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik Has Tea Time with CEOs of Four Major Conglomerates

The business community appeared satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. The six major conglomerate CEOs, who had been reserved, did not avoid reporters asking about the results.

President Lee In-yong said, "We had a very comfortable and extensive conversation," and President Gong Young-woon said, "It was a meaningful occasion because it was a frank discussion."

Especially, when asked about the Hyundai electric vehicle 'Kona' fire that occurred the previous day in an underground parking lot of an apartment in Daegu, President Gong showed composure, saying, "We are preparing countermeasures well to ensure no inconvenience to customers." Unlike the tension before the meeting, it seems the ruling party empathized with the voices of the business community, and the CEOs were satisfied.

In fact, after the meeting, Lee Nak-yeon hinted at the possibility of excluding the application of the 3% rule, saying, "(The meeting content) makes sense from the business community’s perspective. We want to prevent our companies from becoming targets of foreign hedge funds."

After having tea time with CEOs of the four major conglomerates, Chairman Sohn said, "The '3%' rule must be changed," and added, "If it is not changed, it will be difficult for companies to operate, and competitors may enter, which is problematic." He further added, "Although Lee did not mention it, I expect significant adjustments to the 3% rule."

Chairman Sohn also revealed that besides the '3% rule,' he proposed abolishing exclusive prosecution rights and raising the mandatory shareholding ratio of holding companies in subsidiaries in the amendment to the Fair Trade Act.

He said, "Raising the mandatory shareholding ratio of subsidiaries to over 50% (for unlisted companies) is too burdensome for companies," and added, "I conveyed the opinion that the cost of purchasing shares could be used for other businesses."

Going forward, KEF is expected to be the main communication channel for discussions on the amendment of the three major corporate regulation laws. Chairman Sohn said, "Lee emphasized communication," and added, "The Democratic Research Institute, the think tank of the Democratic Party, is researching economic-related legislation and seems likely to communicate with us (KEF) in the future."

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