[New Year's Address] Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, "May Korea Unite to Overcome Crisis Waves"

"All Economic Actors Must Unite"
Advocating for 'Guaranteeing Freedom of Corporate Activities'
Focus on Regulation and Labor Market Reform

On the 29th, Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, urged, "To overcome the wave of the massive economic crisis we are currently facing, all economic agents must unite their strength."

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Kyumin] Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, urged on the 29th, "To overcome the huge wave of the economic crisis we are currently facing, all economic agents must unite their strength."

In his New Year's address, Chairman Sohn stated, "I ask the National Assembly to cooperate across party lines to ensure that legislation can maximally support corporate investment and employment expansion from a grand perspective of overcoming the economic crisis."

Chairman Sohn first said, "This year started with the expectation that the economy would recover as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have had a difficult year due to domestic and international adverse factors," adding, "We are facing a complex crisis with the triple hardships of the global supply chain disruption, high inflation, high interest rates, and high exchange rates."

He continued, "Exports, which are the backbone of our economy, are showing a declining trend, and the trade balance is expected to record a deficit for the first time in 14 years."

To overcome such a crisis, Chairman Sohn argued that the freedom of corporate management activities must be guaranteed to the fullest. He said, "Only when a 'free and dynamic business environment' is created where companies can freely enter new businesses and invest boldly can our economy regain vitality."

Chairman Sohn also spoke about the necessity of regulatory reform. He emphasized, "We need to change to a regulatory system that broadly recognizes the scope of corporate management activities in advance but holds responsibility afterward."

He also called for labor market reform. Chairman Sohn viewed that the system and practices focused on overprotection of regular workers in large corporations have caused severe polarization in the labor market. He stressed the need to lower barriers to job entry and facilitate mobility within the market through labor market flexibility to create a virtuous cycle structure of jobs.

Furthermore, Chairman Sohn said, "Adversarial and confrontational labor-management relations must now change to a cooperative relationship," adding, "If laws and principles are properly established in industrial sites through strict government law enforcement, the wrongful practice of labor unions pushing demands by leveraging their power will disappear."

In addition, he requested ▲ reduction of corporate and inheritance taxes ▲ reform of the seniority-based wage system.

Chairman Sohn stated, "The Korea Employers Federation will do its utmost to enhance corporate vitality and overcome the economic crisis," and added, "Above all, to restore the entrepreneurial spirit that has led national development through bold challenges during every economic crisis, we will create a social atmosphere where companies are respected."

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