[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Major domestic economic organizations are considering holding New Year events online due to strengthened social distancing measures amid the resurgence of COVID-19.
According to the business community on the 5th, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) will conduct the ‘2021 Economic Community New Year Meeting’ on January 7 next year via a dual live broadcast through non-face-to-face video connection.
The KCCI New Year Meeting is a major annual business event attended by about 1,000 participants including domestic business leaders, political and government officials, labor representatives, and foreign diplomats in Korea. This will be the first time it is held as an online live broadcast.
The KCCI plans to connect key figures from politics and business in real time, including Chairman Park Yong-man of KCCI, National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok, and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yoon-mo, and broadcast live through KTV National Broadcasting and YouTube. Recently, they announced a competitive bidding for companies with relevant technology to prepare for the non-face-to-face event.
The Korea Employers Federation is also considering holding the ‘National CEO Workshop,’ held every early February, in a non-face-to-face format.
Since the Employers Federation tentatively canceled this year’s workshop due to the spread of COVID-19, they are placing emphasis on continuing discussions on new year innovation growth and management strategies in a non-face-to-face format next year.
The Federation of Korean Industries is also reviewing plans to hold the ‘Global Business Council (GBC) General Assembly,’ which was tentatively postponed this year, through an online video conference next year.
The GBC General Assembly is a global pure private economic organization alliance involving 14 major countries including Korea’s Federation of Korean Industries, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU), Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and India. It was scheduled to be held in Seoul this year as the first event in East Asia.
The Federation of Korean Industries is planning to discuss major international issues such as global economic cooperation through a non-face-to-face online video conference in the first half of next year at the earliest, and to reschedule the Seoul General Assembly.
A business community official said, "Due to the implementation of social distancing following the resurgence of COVID-19 earlier this year, major business events were tentatively postponed or canceled. However, considering the prolonged COVID-19 situation, it seems they are considering switching to non-face-to-face formats rather than postponing events indefinitely."
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