Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General, "Corporate Innovation Key to Driving Global Economic Recovery" (Comprehensive)

Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the OECD, is giving a lecture on the 9th at Lotte Hotel, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.

"It is necessary to eliminate regulations and obstacles on capital and labor to realize a dynamic economy. Inefficient companies must undergo restructuring, and barriers to market entry should be lowered."

Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), stated this on the 9th during a lecture hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) titled 'Global Economic Recovery Outlook and the Role of Innovation.'

Secretary-General Cormann said, "I believe Korea is one of the most advanced economies with significant investment in research and development (R&D) and a highly skilled workforce," adding, "If Korea demonstrates innovation in industrial policy, it is well positioned to seize opportunities."

He particularly called for regulatory innovation in labor and capital markets. Secretary-General Cormann emphasized, "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, national debt levels have risen and polarization has progressed," and stressed, "It is necessary to remove regulations and obstacles on capital and labor to realize a dynamic economy."

He highly evaluated Korea's digital infrastructure. He said, "The population with broadband connectivity is about 85%, the highest level among all OECD member countries," and assessed, "Korea has the potential to develop and expand areas such as big data and software development by leveraging human capital." He continued, "It has been 25 years since Korea joined the OECD," and remarked, "Korea's successful development of manufacturing and emergence as a trading powerhouse over the past decades is impressive to many."

Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is taking a commemorative photo with Go Hyung-kwon, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the OECD (from left), Chairman of SK Supex Council SV, Lee In-yong, President of Samsung Electronics, and Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, before a lecture held on the 9th at Lotte Hotel, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.

He also said, "The OECD was established with the purpose of jointly addressing global economic issues through mutual policy coordination and cooperation among member countries," adding, "We will continue to play a role in responding to recent global trade issues such as the introduction of digital taxes that allocate taxing rights on multinational corporations and climate change response through the carbon border adjustment mechanism."

About 20 people from companies and research institutions attended the lecture, including Ko Hyung-kwon, Ambassador to the OECD; Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice President of KCCI; Lee Hyung-hee, SV Chairman of SK Supex Council; Lee In-yong, President of Samsung Electronics; Lee Woo-hyun, Vice Chairman of OCI; Yoon Yeol-hyun, President of Kyobo Life Insurance; Heo Yong-seok, President of Hyundai Research Institute; Kim Jung-kwan, CEO of Doosan Management Research Institute; Lim Byung-yeon, Director of Lotte Future Strategy Institute; Park Jin-won, Head of Policy Research Center at LG Management Research Institute; Jung Chul, Senior Fellow at Korea Institute for International Economic Policy; and Han Sung-soo, Head of POSCO International Headquarters.

Secretary-General Cormann visited Korea to attend the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Program (SEARP) ministerial meeting jointly hosted by the OECD and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. As the first OECD chief from the Asia-Pacific region, Cormann, an Australian national, took office in June last year.

Vice President Woo Tae-hee said, "Although Korea recorded negative growth during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it overcame this in just one year and achieved a 4.0% economic growth rate last year," adding, "Amid the slowdown of China's economic growth and the global supply chain crisis, Korea must move forward as an 'Innovated in Korea' where corporate innovation drives growth to survive."

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