Chairman Park Yong-man's Stern Criticism: "Politics' Business Clock Stopped 30 Years Ago"

After Amendments to the Commercial Act and Fair Trade Act, Sharp Criticism Arises Over the Introduction of Class Action System

Park Yong-man, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, held a press conference on the 21st at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Jung-gu, Seoul, to express his position on economic legislation including the amendment bills to the Commercial Act and the Fair Trade Act.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] As the government and political circles continuously introduce large-scale corporate regulatory laws, including amendments to the Commercial Act and the Fair Trade Act, followed by the expansion of class action lawsuits, Park Yong-man, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, sharply criticized, saying, "A significant number of politicians cannot distinguish between companies and their owners, and they are completely unaware of the hundreds of thousands of stakeholders, executives, shareholders, partner companies, and employees affiliated with the companies."

On the 24th, regarding the government's successive corporate regulatory policies, Chairman Park told Asia Economy, "They (the political circles) do not understand at all that more than two-thirds of the sales of most large corporations come from the global competitive market," adding, "It seems that the corporate clock that the political circles are looking at has stopped in the era 30 years ago when corporate real estate speculation was prohibited," delivering a sharp criticism.

He continued, "Despite companies having voiced these concerns multiple times to the political circles regarding corporate regulatory bills, both ruling and opposition parties seem to be ignoring corporate opinions like the wind passing through the trees and are determined to pass the bills," expressing his frustration.

On the 22nd, Chairman Park also visited the National Assembly to convey the business community's concerns about corporate regulatory laws. At that time, in a media interview, he said, "As you know well, our companies are struggling daily on the brink of life and death due to the aftermath of COVID-19," and added, "In this situation, with both ruling and opposition parties indiscriminately pushing for burdensome laws on companies, businesses are trapped in a desperate situation."

Chairman Park stated, "I am not opposed to all economic legislation being promoted in the National Assembly," but he insisted, "However, since there are problems with both the methods and procedures, corporate opinions must be gathered, and side effects and alternatives should be discussed to find the right path."

He also pointed out, "The purpose of the law amendment is to correct unfair trade and prevent the abuse of controlling shareholders, but there is a motive causing this," adding, "If you leave the motive as it is and only interfere and regulate based on the results, it will inevitably cause side effects or produce ways to circumvent the regulations."

Meanwhile, Chairman Park also addressed companies, saying, "Repeating only positions of 'it will work' or 'it won't work' does not seem to lead to solutions," and expressed hope that "there will be many opportunities to present rational alternatives and seriously review and discuss what the side effects are."