Dongbanwi Examines Online Platform 'Win-Win Cooperation'... "Aiming to Prevent Social Conflicts"

Oh Young-kyo, Chairman of the Win-Win Growth Committee, Holds Press Briefing on the 21st
States "Reviewing 'Platform Industry Evaluation Indicators'"
"Our Goal is Growth" Dismisses Arguments Against the Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Commission for Shared Growth is devising measures to prevent social conflicts surrounding online platforms. The plan is to promote win-win cooperation between platform companies and small and medium-sized merchants through a pilot project next year.

On the 21st, Oh Young-gyo, Chairman of the Commission for Shared Growth, held a press conference at the Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, discussing this year's achievements and the direction of next year's projects.

Chairman Oh said, "Interest in platform companies is growing, so next year we need to prepare and get ready for this area." The Commission is reviewing ways to establish a 'platform industry evaluation index' through research projects as the online platform industry expands.

Oh stated, "We plan to prepare how to lead platforms and respond proactively," adding, "We judged that it would be better for the Commission to prepare in advance before the government and industry raise issues."

Issues such as unfair trade and abuse of power between online platform companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and merchants have been continuously raised. In response, the government and the National Assembly have proposed regulatory measures such as the Online Platform Fairness Act. The Commission also aims to extend its reach to the platform industry under the pretext of promoting win-win cooperation between large and small businesses.

However, the Commission does not have legal authority to enforce win-win activities by companies. It is expected to focus on fostering a shared growth atmosphere through voluntary agreements between industries.

The Commission regularly publishes an index evaluating the level of shared growth among large corporations. This year, it announced the shared growth index results for 215 companies, categorizing them into grades such as Excellent, Good, Fair, Average, and Poor.

Chairman Oh said, "It is difficult to speak specifically as the current situation could be misunderstood," but added, "Since there are various fields including Naver, Kakao, SSG, Yanolja, and Baedal Minjok, it is necessary to group them by sector."

He expressed, "It is risky to immediately set platforms under a management framework next year," and hoped, "We want to start with a pilot project and create a win-win cooperation model."

Park Chi-hyung, Director of Operations at the Commission, also said, "We are considering how to group online platforms for evaluation," and added, "Before social conflicts explode, the Commission plans to proactively promote voluntary win-win agreements by industry, such as real estate, wholesale and retail, and delivery sectors."

Additionally, Chairman Oh dismissed the 'Commission for Shared Growth uselessness theory' circulating in some quarters. The Commission designates SME-suitable industries to block large corporations' entry, but there have been claims that this designation brings no practical benefits and rather undermines SMEs' self-sustainability. In response, the Commission is investigating related matters with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to self-evaluate the SME-suitable industry system.

Oh emphasized, "The Commission must find ways to resolve polarization and pursue a path of shared growth," and stressed, "It is important to resolve the power imbalance between large and small businesses and create a sustainable innovation ecosystem."

He added, "Our goal is growth," and said, "We seek ways to restore economic growth momentum and strengthen competitiveness by industry to contribute to the national economy."

The Commission has signed 'polarization resolution voluntary agreements' between large corporations and cooperating SMEs. Previously, this was conducted under the name 'wage gap resolution movement.' Reviewing cumulative results, a total of 89 companies have signed agreements worth 25.33 trillion won.

Chairman Oh mentioned the win-win management case between Lotte Chemical and its partner company Dubon. Lotte Chemical assisted Dubon, which plans to enter Malaysia, in various ways such as local market research and factory establishment permits. Oh praised, "This is true win-win cooperation."

Oh said that after seeing the case of Lotte Chemical and Dubon, he conceived the 'Shared Growth Award' system and plans to promote excellent cooperation models between large and small businesses in the future. He said, "The Shared Growth Award is like a gold medal in the Olympics," and added, "We plan to hold an awards ceremony tomorrow (22nd) to present the gold medal."

The Shared Growth Award will be given to companies with outstanding activities in areas such as the Shared Growth Index, win-win council activities, and polarization resolution voluntary agreements.

He said, "These companies will be successful win-win cooperation models and exemplars," and added, "Since the award focuses on honor, it is not linked to incentives, but we will consider how to reflect it when evaluating the Shared Growth Index."

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