Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik Criticizes Both Parties for Regulatory Legislation... "Overcoming Anti-Business Sentiment Is a Challenge"

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation (photo), expressed concerns about the government and ruling party's one-sided corporate regulation policy stance and criticized the ruling party for pushing excessive policies and the opposition party for failing to speak with one voice. At the same time, he emphasized the need to eradicate the pervasive 'anti-corporate sentiment' in our society and to strive to create a corporate-friendly perception where companies are loved by the public.

On the 18th, during an informal meeting with reporters, Chairman Sohn said, "Economic organizations expressed strong opposition to the (corporate regulation) laws, but their opinions were not reflected, which is quite disappointing," and pointed out, "The ruling party did not compromise on parts determined by political ideology, and the opposition party's internal lines are unclear and voices differ, causing difficulties in itself."

Chairman Sohn sharply criticized the recently passed corporate regulation bills as excessive in themselves and not aligned with global standards. He said, "In an open competitive national system, regulation is directly linked to competitiveness," and added, "Other governments are not foolish; there are reasons why they all comply with global standards, so we need to carefully examine this."

Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation

On this day, Chairman Sohn pointed out the problems of the recently passed corporate regulation bills one by one and also criticized the ruling party's unilateral bill processing method. Sohn said, "In the recently passed Labor Union Act, the business community demanded prohibition of illegal occupation by unions and allowance of substitute labor, but none of these were reflected," and criticized, "I think the government is excessively biased toward labor unions."

Regarding the '3% rule' limiting the exercise of voting rights by major shareholders, he pointed out it as a kind of infringement on private property rights, saying, "Companies are concerned that this bill's passage could increase the influence of hedge funds," and added, "Corresponding measures to defend management rights are necessary, but there is no consideration for this, and the unprotected state continues, which is quite worrisome."

Regarding the Serious Accident Corporate Punishment Act, which is currently under legislative coordination, he expressed a cautious stance, saying he cannot guarantee 100% the possibility of the bill's passage. He also pointed out that the government is not effectively utilizing industrial accident insurance premiums and other funds contributed by companies to the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency for accident prevention activities.

Chairman Sohn said, "It is not desirable to prevent accidents by imposing harsh punishments on business owners and holding them responsible for accidents," and added, "Proactive preventive efforts are important; it is not a problem that can be solved by holding managers fully responsible." He reiterated his position that even though many corporate regulation bills have passed the National Assembly, they will actively pursue legislative supplementation during the process of enacting subordinate laws such as enforcement ordinances.

Meanwhile, Chairman Sohn emphasized that to prevent the government and ruling party from unilaterally pushing corporate regulation policies, it is above all necessary to resolve the pervasive 'anti-corporate sentiment' in our society. This is based on the belief that if a culture and perception where companies are loved by the public are established first, the political sphere will also promote corporate-friendly policies.

Chairman Sohn said, "Recently, our companies are also transforming in a positive direction," and emphasized, "We will actively promote ways to improve awareness through youth education and mass media to actively inform the public of companies' changes and to resolve anti-corporate sentiment."

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