Concerns Over KDI's Delivery Unit Price Linkage Side Effects... SMEs Say "No Logical Leap"

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector expressed regret over the claim made by the government-funded research institute KDI that mandating the linkage system for delivery prices could lead to side effects such as increased consumer costs.

On the 29th, the Korea Federation of SMEs stated in a commentary, "The limitations of relying solely on the autonomy and goodwill of large corporations have already been proven through the operation of the delivery price adjustment consultation system over the past 14 years," and emphasized, "Now is the time to strive for the expansion of the system through the legalization of the delivery price linkage system."

They further pointed out to KDI, "The introduction of the system should not be delayed due to unverified negative impacts and logical leaps."

On the 27th, KDI released a report expressing concerns that if the delivery price linkage system is made mandatory, large corporations might distort other transaction conditions to compensate for profits or that consumer cost burdens could increase, causing side effects.

The Korea Federation of SMEs criticized, "If large corporations use the delivery price linkage system as a pretext to suppress prices, such behavior deserves sanctions," and added, "Claiming that such unfair trade practices will occur can only be interpreted as encouraging the abuse of the system."

They also argued, "Consumer prices are determined by large corporations considering not only component prices but also labor costs and expenses," and stated, "To prevent a decrease in consumer welfare, large corporations also need to make efforts to reduce production costs through innovation."

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