An Geon-jun: "Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's Role Needed for Venture-Large Corporation Win-Win"

An Geon-jun, Chairman of the Korea Venture Business Association

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Ahn Geon-jun, chairman of the Korea Venture Business Association, stated that the role of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is necessary for a win-win ecosystem between venture companies and large corporations. On the 13th, Chairman Ahn revealed this while publicly sharing the "New Year's Issues and Policy Directions for the Venture Industry" online, as holding various offline events became difficult due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Chairman Ahn said, "The only solution to fundamentally change the unfair and abusive behavior in the large corporate ecosystem and to complete a truly win-win ecosystem is the firm declaration of eradication will by the owners of large corporations and their sincere attitude in practicing it," adding, "The recent efforts by Samsung for change are distinctly different from the past in that they are voluntary movements driven by the crisis awareness of overcoming global trade disputes and Samsung's future global competitiveness." He explained that the innovative venture industry, which had been critical of the self-centered behavior of large corporations, is feeling this change on the ground.

He said, "The reason for submitting a petition to the court requesting leniency for Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is that the firm will and swift decision of Lee, the owner of Samsung, are essential to create a complete Korean-style innovative venture ecosystem," emphasizing, "I hope that Vice Chairman Lee will be given the opportunity to break the chain of past bad practices and contribute to overcoming the economic crisis and achieving a leap forward. Venture entrepreneurs will also play a role in monitoring unethical practices and illegal management activities in the industrial field."

Chairman Ahn also mentioned that the venture industry is playing a pillar role in the Korean economy during the COVID-19 era. He said, "The venture industry also suffered serious damage to business operations and new business promotion due to the impact of COVID-19 and had to endure difficult times," but evaluated, "At the center of the rise of the untact industry and the transition to the digital economy, venture companies have introduced innovative technologies faster than anyone else and challenged new possibilities, emerging as an alternative growth group to overcome the crisis."

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, despite the worst economic situation caused by COVID-19 last year, the number of jobs in venture companies increased by 4.3% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 667,699 as of the end of June. In the 2020 Venture Business Detailed Survey, the total sales of venture-certified companies as of the end of 2019 were about 193.3 trillion KRW, ranking second among all Korean companies after Samsung. Also, the number of venture companies among the top 20 KOSDAQ market capitalization companies increased from only six in 2001 to 13 last year, and the combined market capitalization of these companies was about 44.8 trillion KRW, accounting for 11.5% of the total KOSDAQ listed companies' market capitalization and 51.4% of the top 20 companies' market capitalization, contributing to economic recovery. Chairman Ahn said, "To overcome the economic and industrial crisis caused by COVID-19, innovative ventures must become an alternative and prepare for the post-COVID era," emphasizing, "It is necessary to actively foster innovative venture companies that have more flexible situational response capabilities than any other corporate group."

The venture industry also expressed the need for deregulation legislation. Chairman Ahn said, "It is necessary to ease the Fair Economy 3 Acts, class action lawsuits, and the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which have recently become issues," adding, "In terms of industrial regulation, deregulation in new industry fields is especially necessary. The government should operate a single control tower internally to coordinate regulatory reform functions, and full cooperation from the National Assembly is also required. The association plans to focus on deregulation activities for the remote medical field and data economy activation this year," he said. He also addressed measures to increase unicorn companies, stating, "Entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution era is a matter of speed, but due to dense spider-web-like regulations, venture companies in new industries are falling behind in competition and being eliminated," adding, "New businesses should not be confined within the framework of existing laws and systems, and rapid regulatory innovation is very important. Business activities should basically be left to the market, and a private autonomous regulatory system should be formed through fair competition and cooperation among companies, creating an industrial ecosystem where self-regulation and self-purification occur."

Chairman Ahn continued, "During the regime change period, I have served as the representative of about 70,000 venture companies and have been busy leading the creation of a Korean-style innovative venture ecosystem and proposing development plans for the venture industry to the government over the past four years," expressing his thoughts before retiring as chairman, "I feel rewarded because there have been visible advances such as improvements in the investment environment, laws and systems, and social perception of startups."

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