Economic Group Leaders Say "Economic Crisis Must Be Turned Into Opportunity"... Demand Strong 'Reforms'

Chairman Choi Tae-won: "Companies Must Take the Lead on 'Social Issues'"
Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik: "Intensify 'Labor Reform' Efforts"
Chairman Ryu Jin: "Urgent Need to Discover New Technologies and Growth Engines"
Chairman Koo Ja-yeol: "Urgent Regulatory Reforms Across Various Sectors"
Chairman Kim Ki-moon: "Alleviate Labor Shortages Through Labor Reform"
Chairman Choi Jin-sik: "Improve Laws and Systems Including Killer Regulations"

Leaders of six major economic organizations have collectively raised the improvement of labor productivity as a key theme for the new year. This is interpreted as a sign that enhancing production efficiency is urgently needed amid concerns that the population decline could lead to a stage of extinction.

The heads of six major economic organizations, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Federation of Employers, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, and the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises, called for reforms to turn the economic crisis into an opportunity in their 2024 New Year's messages.

(From left) Chey Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Ryu Jin, Chairman of the Korea Entrepreneurs Federation; Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation; Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association; Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs; Choi Jin-sik, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Mid-sized Enterprises.

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, emphasized, "Innovation and progress are necessary for our economy to quickly get back on the recovery track," and urged, "Companies must take a more active role in solving current social issues such as low birth rates, declining working-age population, regional extinction risks, industrial aging, and climate problems." Chairman Choi stated, "We plan to create a ‘regional platform’ where industry, government, and academia gather around companies to discuss economic solutions and to discover a ‘solution package’ to jointly address various issues such as low growth, population extinction, and regulations."

Ryu Jin, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, said, "To stay ahead in the digital transformation trend, it is urgent to discover new technologies and new growth engines," adding, "We cannot delay finding solutions to structural problems such as the decline in the working-age population caused by low birth rates and aging." He further emphasized, "Efforts should be made to improve labor productivity through labor market flexibility, increase women's participation in economic activities, and attract excellent foreign talent."

Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Employers, also argued, "To compete on equal footing with companies from other countries, outdated practices and systems in the labor market and other areas must be improved." Chairman Son particularly stressed the need for strong labor reforms, stating, "I hope that labor reforms will be vigorously promoted to firmly establish labor-management rule of law and modernize unreasonable labor-management practices and systems."

Gu Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, also expressed, "Our country urgently needs regulatory reforms in various fields such as labor and education to respond to the decline in the working-age population and weakening growth potential."

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, proposed labor reforms such as flexibilization of the 52-hour workweek system and improvements to the Serious Accident Punishment Act to alleviate manpower shortages in small and medium enterprises and to identify and improve killer regulations that can enhance innovation capabilities.

Choi Jin-sik, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises, mentioned, "We will improve laws and systems to further ease difficulties faced by medium-sized enterprises, including killer regulations."

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