KCCI Holds Meeting with EU Ambassador to Korea... "Concerns Over EU Regulatory Legislation Burdening Korean Companies"

Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, held a meeting with the European Union (EU) delegation in Korea to convey the concerns of Korean companies. This was in the context of worries that various regulations legislated by the EU might become obstacles to economic cooperation between the two countries.

On the 12th, the Korea Employers Federation held a meeting with the EU delegation at the Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. On the EU side, 23 ambassadors including Maria Castillo Fernandez, the EU Ambassador to Korea, attended. From the Korea Employers Federation, company representatives and executives from chairman-level companies such as Moon Hong-sung, President of Doosan, Lee Sung-soo, President of Hanwha, and Jung Sang-bin, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Company, participated.

At the meeting, Chairman Son mentioned the concerns of Korean companies regarding the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). He stated, "There is concern that a series of legislations may impose sudden burdens on our companies and weaken the long-established economic cooperation relationship."

Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, is speaking at the EU Ambassador Invitation Meeting held on the 12th.
[Photo by Kyungchong]

Since the 1st of this month, the EU has institutionalized mandatory reporting of carbon emissions for exports of six major items?cement, electricity, fertilizer, steel, aluminum, and hydrogen?under CBAM. Additionally, the so-called 'Supply Chain Due Diligence Directive' (CSDDD) requires companies to identify, prevent, mitigate, and disclose information about the negative impacts their business activities may have on human rights and the environment.

Chairman Son explained the efforts of the Korean business community toward ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management and urged the EU side to reflect the realities and opinions of Korean companies. Regarding recent labor reforms by the Korean government, he pointed out, "The labor sector claims that the government's labor reforms are oppression and continues strong resistance, but many of these claims are not true." He added, "The government is establishing the rule of law in industrial sites and promoting reforms to improve the labor market structure," and emphasized, "Labor reform is an unavoidable task for strengthening national competitiveness and for future generations."

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