Prime Minister Kim: "I Will Listen Frankly"... Business Community: "Lee Jae-yong, Pardon as Soon as Possible" (Comprehensive)

Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom Holds Meeting with Heads of Five Economic Organizations

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is taking a commemorative photo with the heads of five economic organizations before the Prime Minister-Economic Organization Heads meeting held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 3rd. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] On the 3rd, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum met with the heads of five major domestic economic organizations to discuss business issues, including the pardon request for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

On the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Kim held a meeting at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul with the heads of the five economic organizations: Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation; Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association; Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business; and Kang Ho-gap, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises. They listened to current economic issues and difficulties. From the government side, Koo Yoon-cheol, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination; Yoon Chang-ryeol, Deputy Minister of Government; Lee Ok-won from the Ministry of Economy and Finance; Park Jin-gyu from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Park Hwa-jin from the Ministry of Employment and Labor; and Kang Sung-cheon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, were present.

This was the first official meeting between Prime Minister Kim, who took office last month, and the heads of economic organizations. In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Kim said, "Although the government has been working hard, the reality is that businesspeople are criticizing us in various ways," and added, "We have gathered to hear good advice on various national economic policies that we must pursue together. Please speak frankly."

Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, is speaking at the Prime Minister-Economic Organization Heads Meeting held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 3rd.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Among the attending economic organization heads, Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation and the eldest among them, mentioned the pardon of Vice Chairman Lee in his public remarks. Chairman Son emphasized, "Considering the current dynamics of the global semiconductor market, the advantage our country has maintained so far may be broken," and stressed, "Vice Chairman Lee must return to the field as soon as possible." He also recalled that in April, under his leadership, the five economic organizations drafted a petition for Lee's pardon and submitted it to the Blue House, appealing, "We once again earnestly request the government's consideration."

Although the meeting was originally arranged to listen to overall economic issues and difficulties, the pardon issue of Vice Chairman Lee emerged as the biggest topic and was mentioned again. The business community hopes that Lee will be included in the August 15 special pardon, considering the need to respond to the economic recovery phase in the second half of the year.

Choi, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, supported the discussion by saying, "The market and technology landscape have drastically changed due to COVID-19," and added, "I hope this will be an opportunity to discuss new ways to quickly recover the economy by next year." He especially emphasized, "Since the Prime Minister stresses communication with the business community, expectations are quite high."

Prime Minister Kim had previously refrained from commenting on Lee's pardon, citing it as the 'exclusive authority of the President,' but during last month's parliamentary confirmation hearing, he expressed his intention, saying, "If appointed as Prime Minister, I will meet with the business community to properly understand the situation and convey it to President Moon Jae-in."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the meeting, in addition to the pardon issue of Vice Chairman Lee, various business difficulties, youth employment, and future industry talent development, among other economic policies, were discussed. Chairman Koo of the Korea International Trade Association lamented, "Recently, the trade industry is facing double hardships due to the sharp rise in raw material prices and worsening logistics difficulties," and said, "Especially, companies with low export volumes have little room for negotiation due to rising shipping costs and must bear all increased expenses." He requested, "Please support expanding logistics for small and medium export companies by injecting additional budget in the second half of the year."

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, mentioned the recent export boom and economic recovery but expressed concern that "the polarization between large and small-medium enterprises is intensifying." Accordingly, he requested ▲ the introduction of a delivery price linkage system reflecting raw material price increases ▲ postponement of the 52-hour workweek system for small-scale enterprises with fewer than 50 employees ▲ and supplementation of the Serious Accident Punishment Act system.

Meanwhile, Lee Ho-seung, Chief of Staff for Policy at the Blue House, and Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, will hold a private meeting on the 4th with the heads of the five major domestic groups: Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG, and Lotte. This meeting is to discuss follow-up measures after the Korea-US summit, and attention is focused on whether the pardon request for Vice Chairman Lee will be raised there as well.

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