Half of Small Businesses Say "President Must Have Economic Growth Capability... Improve the 52-Hour Workweek System"

Korea Federation of SMEs 'Survey on Opinions for the 20th President'
"Labor Reform, Policies to Create Quality Jobs Must Be Promoted"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Half of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) identified 'ability to drive economic growth' as the key capability the next president should possess. They cited 'labor reform' as the top priority area for reform by the next president and expressed hopes for improvements in the 52-hour workweek system and minimum wage policies.

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on the 7th the results of a survey titled 'Opinions of SMEs and Small Business Owners for the 20th President,' conducted last month with 600 SMEs (300 manufacturing and 300 non-manufacturing companies).

About 48.8% of SMEs chose 'ability to drive economic growth' as the essential capability or qualification the next president must have for successful national governance. This indicates that economic competence is regarded as the most important presidential quality.

Following that were communication skills (41.2%), morality and integrity (40.0%), and strong leadership and drive (39.0%).

As for the areas requiring immediate reform after the next president's inauguration, labor reform (42.7%), regulatory reform (36.5%), and financial reform (35.5%) ranked highest. Among companies with more than 200 employees, responses for labor reform (27.7%) were lower, while responses for political reform (38.3%) were higher.

Regarding key economic policy directions, 'creation of quality jobs (44.5%)' was the most frequently cited. Other important economic policies included 'resolving income inequality (37.2%)' and 'addressing polarization between large and small-medium enterprises (36.2%).'

In companies with over 200 employees, responses for resolving income inequality (44.7%) were somewhat higher than those for creating quality jobs (40.4%).

As for SME and small business policies that must be reflected in the next presidential candidate's election pledges, 'flexibility in working hours such as improvement of the 52-hour workweek system (49.3%)' was the most selected.

Next were 'reflecting the realities of SMEs and small businesses in minimum wage calculations (44.0%)' and 'fair trade practices in transactions between large and small-medium enterprises, including delivery prices (26.8%).'

Regarding the biggest obstacles to the growth and management stability of SMEs and small businesses across the economy and society, 54.7% cited 'widening wage gaps between large and small-medium enterprises.'

This was followed by 'prejudice and low social recognition of SMEs (40.3%)' and 'regulations hindering business activities (39.3%).'

Choo Moon-gap, Head of Economic Policy at the Korea Federation of SMEs, summarized, "The SME sector hopes the next president will focus on quickly recovering the economy from the COVID-19 downturn, labor reform, and job creation in governing the country."

He added, "We hope that policies addressing polarization between large and small-medium enterprises, the 52-hour workweek system, and minimum wage improvements will be included in the next presidential candidate's pledges, laying the foundation for SMEs to make a leap forward as the core of South Korea's economy."

Meanwhile, the survey was conducted via telephone from the 8th to the 22nd of last month, with a 95% confidence level and a sampling error of ±4.00 percentage points.

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