Sangui "Economic Situation Serious"... Proposals for New Industry Regulation Reform and Mega Sandbox

Policy Meeting with Kim Gi-hyeon, Leader of the People Power Party

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) emphasized the need to take the current economic situation seriously and proposed urgent measures to the ruling party to respond to the economic crisis.

On the 12th, KCCI held a policy meeting at the Sang-ui Hall, inviting Kim Gi-hyeon, the leader of the People Power Party. At this meeting, they proposed legislative and policy tasks and economic issues to address the economic crisis and enhance corporate vitality, including resolving difficulties in corporate investment and exports.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the day, Woo Tae-hee, the full-time vice chairman of KCCI, who delivered the presentation, stated, "While major domestic and international institutions such as the IMF and OECD have recently revised their global economic outlooks upward, South Korea's economic growth rate is uniquely being revised downward. Although there are rosy forecasts that conditions will improve in the second half of the year, the current situation of declining exports and production and increasing inventories must be taken seriously."

Vice Chairman Woo identified the following as urgent legislative tasks: △ resolving difficulties in corporate investment and exports, △ rapid adjustment of regulations related to new industries, △ introduction of a mega sandbox, △ improvement of the separation of banking and commerce regulations, and △ easing of economic penalties. As ongoing tasks, he mentioned △ flexible working hours, △ easing regulations on large supermarkets' operations, △ supplementing the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and △ introducing an impact assessment system for member-proposed legislation.

In particular, as cautious legislative tasks, he pointed out △ the Yellow Envelope Act and △ the legalization of ESG disclosure obligations.

Vice Chairman Woo said, "Since major industries such as semiconductors and batteries require large-scale investments, support methods for current national strategic technologies should be strengthened to the level of advanced countries. At the same time, support measures for expanding corporate investment and promoting exports should be prioritized by the government and the ruling party."

He continued, "To comprehensively address issues such as regulatory innovation, future industries, regional economies, and the demographic cliff, it is necessary to introduce a mega sandbox. This concept expands beyond the existing sandbox focused on regulatory innovation to include finance, manpower, taxation, R&D, and the transfer of authority to local governments."

At the meeting, the chairpersons of the Korea and Seoul Chambers of Commerce proposed to the People Power Party the following issues: △ reduction of the electricity industry infrastructure fund rate, △ establishment of a fund for advanced strategic industries, △ differentiated corporate tax rates for non-capital regions, △ tax support for overseas mining investments to secure key battery minerals, and △ enactment of a special law for the development and support of airport economic zones.

Lee Yoon-cheol, chairman of the Ulsan Chamber of Commerce, said, "Due to the increase in electricity rates, the burden of the electricity industry infrastructure fund, which is linked to electricity rates, has also increased. As a result, companies are suffering from a double burden of rising electricity rates and fund contributions. We hope that the electricity industry infrastructure fund rate will be significantly reduced to offset the burden of electricity rate hikes."

Lee Hyung-hee, chairman of SK Supex Council, emphasized, "It is necessary to strengthen the role of public financial institutions to establish a policy fund for advanced strategic industries and to grant special exceptions to the credit provision limits under the Export-Import Bank Act."

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