Economic Organizations "Welcome" Killer Regulation Reform Plans... "Helps Enhance Competitiveness"

Economic organizations expressed their welcome on the 24th regarding the government's announcement of killer regulation reform measures in the fields of industrial complexes, environment, and foreign employment.

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-seok is holding a briefing on the reform of killer regulations to revitalize the labor market at the Government Seoul Office on the 23rd. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), in a statement issued under the name of Choo Kwang-ho, Head of the Economic and Industrial Headquarters, evaluated, "This government’s regulatory reform will create a business-friendly environment, enhance the global competitiveness of our companies, and aid economic recovery."

The FKI added, "Above all, the improvement of unreasonable regulations in the environmental sector, such as chemical substance regulations and environmental impact assessments, which are representative regulations hindering corporate activities, will resolve management difficulties for companies. Furthermore, the deregulation of industrial complex location areas, including the improvement of residential environments in aging industrial complexes, is expected to revitalize local economies, save regions from extinction risks, and ultimately contribute to balanced national development." They also conveyed a message of hope that "the government will actively engage in improving regulations that do not meet global standards, such as entry regulations for new industries and discriminatory regulations based on company size."

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), through a statement by Kang Seok-gu, Head of the Research Headquarters, expressed a "welcome" stance and explained, "We expect the government’s determination for regulatory innovation to be conveyed as a positive message to the business field."

They also emphasized that some of the industrial complex operation system improvement measures proposed by the KCCI have been partially reflected, leading to a major overhaul of outdated industrial complex regulations for the first time in 30 years, and that the improvement of the Chemical Substances Control Act and the Chemical Control Act regulations to levels consistent with global standards will help strengthen the international competitiveness of Korean companies. Additionally, they stated, "We expect that the relaxation of foreign employment regulations will help alleviate the urgent labor shortages faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies," and urged, "We hope that killer regulations will be improved swiftly and that improvement plans for killer regulations in other areas will be prepared promptly to create a business environment where regulatory improvements can be tangibly felt on the ground."

The Korea Employers Federation also described the measures as "very timely" in their statement. They expressed expectations that "the reform of killer regulations will greatly contribute to revitalizing investment across our industrial sector, which is struggling due to worsening domestic and international economic conditions, and to enhancing corporate vitality." The Korea Federation of SMEs requested, "Considering the reality that SMEs find it difficult to employ domestic workers, please proceed with follow-up measures to abolish employment limits per company and to restrict excessive workplace changes for foreign workers."

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