Korean Disease Control Association, Korea Chamber of Commerce's 'Communication Platform' Criticized as 'Non-Communication Platform' Representing Big Business Interests

Post on the communication platform of the Korea Disease Control Association and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. [Photo by Korea Disease Control Association]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The Korea Quarantine Association's Large Corporation Market Entry Countermeasures Committee (Chairman Lee Cheol, hereinafter referred to as the Committee) expressed regret that the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's communication platform, which started with the motto "I change the world," is a non-communicative platform that disregards the position of small business owners and only represents the interests of large corporations.

On February 17, the Committee posted an agenda on the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's communication platform titled "Stop the indiscriminate entry of large corporations into the small-scale pest control and disinfection market and the disruption of market order." The content called for halting the unfair entry of large corporations into the small-scale disinfection market and realizing a fair economy that coexists with small business owners.

However, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated that although the agenda proposed by the Committee met sufficient conditions to proceed to the voting/discussion stage, it was excluded because it was "not appropriate to the topic and purpose," which caused controversy.

The "communication platform," launched last November to receive opinions from any citizen on economic and social issues, operates as follows: if a proposal in the first stage, 'Propose,' receives more than 200 sympathies, it moves to the second stage, 'Discussion and Voting.' If more than 500 people vote with a support rate exceeding 50%, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry must officially submit and provide feedback. The agenda proposed by the Committee exceeded the minimum criterion of 200 sympathies within 8 days and received a total of 215 sympathies.

Currently, the domestic disinfection industry has total sales of about 1 trillion won and employs 1 million people, the majority of whom are small business owners with annual sales under 100 million won. According to the Committee, large corporations with sales around 100 trillion won are entering this small-scale disinfection market in an overreaching manner, threatening the livelihoods of small business owners.

Lee Cheol, Vice Chairman of the Korea Quarantine Association and Chairman of the Committee, stated, "Even if a proposal meets the standards of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's communication platform, which anyone can participate in, proposals related to large corporations are omitted due to ambiguous operational methods, which can only be regarded as a non-communicative platform." He added, "This is like killing small business owners twice, and we strongly express our regret."