Choi Tae-won and Lee Jae-myung "Should Shift to Negative Regulation"... Lee Jae-myung Visits Business Community First (Comprehensive)

Business Community Proposes Labor Flexibility... Lee Jae-myung Agrees on Necessity but Emphasizes 'Social Safety Net'
Lee Jae-myung Visits Business Community First... Business Community Values Communication

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), met with Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and they unanimously agreed on the need to shift to a 'negative regulation' system to create new growth engines. While acknowledging the necessity of expanding labor flexibility related to the 52-hour workweek and minimum wage, they emphasized that a social safety net must be a prerequisite.

On the afternoon of the 10th, Candidate Lee met with Chairman Chey and other KCCI chairpersons at the KCCI for a private discussion and delivered a collection of economic proposals. The KCCI has consistently held meetings during election periods by inviting major party candidates to listen to their economic and corporate pledges and request necessary measures. Ahead of the 20th presidential election scheduled for March next year, Lee was the first candidate to meet with them.

◆ Candidate Lee Jae-myung Visits Economic Circle First... KCCI Internally Hopeful = At the meeting, Candidate Lee opened by saying, "People might misunderstand that I only meet with labor groups. That's why I deliberately suggested visiting the KCCI first." He then emphasized, "The government's role is fundamentally to support corporate autonomy, innovation, and creativity within the market economy and to create an environment that enables this."

Chairman Chey said, "The role of companies should also be expanded," adding, "I think the social system needs to change to a state where growth potential can be further enhanced."

The domestic economic community, including the KCCI, does not view the current situation in South Korea positively or optimistically. Economic vitality and the happiness of social members are declining, and there is growing concern that the current election phase is focused on past or domestic issues rather than future or global perspectives. Amid this, Candidate Lee's announcement to visit the KCCI earlier than expected raised internal expectations. A KCCI official evaluated, "It is significant that a presidential candidate who emphasizes labor more than corporations communicated first with the economic sector."

The first proposition in the economic proposals recently delivered by the KCCI to various parties is "Rebuilding the Foundation for Sustainable Economic Development." Given that this is a transitional period where existing industries are declining and new industries are emerging, coupled with the retreat of free trade principles, the US-China hegemonic competition, North Korean nuclear issues, and Korea-Japan relations, the KCCI argues that a different foundation from the past is necessary for steady economic development. Immediate actionable proposals such as expanding local currency policies to stimulate domestic demand and fostering new industries like big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital transformation are also contents that Candidate Lee has consistently emphasized or recently included in his pledges.

◆ Chey Tae-won and Lee Jae-myung Agree on the Need to Introduce 'Negative Regulation' = The two first discussed corporate regulations. When Candidate Lee described regulations as "rules for fair competition," Chairman Chey responded, "Regulations should be implemented when necessary," emphasizing, "If regulations move in the right direction to drive growth, corporate activities will improve significantly, which can help increase the country's growth potential." The chairpersons attending the meeting showed strong agreement by nodding in response to Chairman Chey's remarks.

Since the term of the previous chairman, the KCCI has consistently advocated for changing to a 'negative regulation' system to support companies entering new businesses. Negative regulation is a regulatory approach that permits all activities except those legally prohibited. South Korea currently operates under a 'positive regulation' system, where everything not explicitly allowed by law is prohibited. The KCCI has paved the way for selectively adopting 'comprehensive negative regulation' for new industries and startups. The 'Regulatory Sandbox Support Center' is a representative example.

In response, Candidate Lee said, "The speed of social change is now so fast that bureaucrats cannot predict many capabilities," adding, "For creative companies to innovate and move toward new items and innovative industries, switching to a 'negative regulation' system is the core of regulatory innovation," thereby forming a consensus.

◆ Economic Circle Proposes 'Labor Flexibility'... Lee Jae-myung: 'Labor Flexibility Is Necessary but Must Be Based on a Social Safety Net' = The private meeting reportedly focused on the government's role in the economic situation. In particular, the issue of labor flexibility, which has been a point of sharp contention between the economic sector and the government, was discussed.

Lee So-young, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "In a situation where labor flexibility for regular workers in large corporations is not secured, companies operate by increasing non-regular and in-house subcontracted jobs, and good quality job opportunities for young people do not open up. To solve these problems, securing labor flexibility is somewhat necessary, but it was agreed that labor flexibility should be secured through strengthening the social safety net."

At the meeting, Chairman Chey reportedly said, "A social grand compromise is necessary to resolve the challenges facing our economy, and labor, economic sectors, and society as a whole must engage in serious discussions."

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