"Government and Companies as One Team" Chey Tae-won... Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Presence Stands Tall

[Competition Among Economic Groups]②
KCCI Establishes Itself as Representative of the Business Community

Editor's NoteThe Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), which should gather opinions from the business community and act as a private diplomatic envoy overseas to support the economic policies of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, has encountered a major issue of 'finding its role.' With the reduction of FKI's role as a turning point, the balance of power among economic organizations such as the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, the Korea Employers Federation, and the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises?who had collaborated to invigorate the economy?has also collapsed. Voices calling for the integration of economic organizations have even emerged to resolve inefficiencies caused by overlapping roles. Can the FKI find its role through a change in its chairman?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyun-gil] On the 18th (local time) at the Ameron Mountain Hotel in Davos, Switzerland, about 500 global political and business figures, including President Yoon Seok-yeol and Choi Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), appeared. It was the first 'Korea Night' event held in five years due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 'Korea Night' event, held in 2018 at the Davos Forum to wish for the success of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but this year the KCCI took charge for the first time. Employees, including Choo Jeong-hwa, head of the Gumi Trade Office in the KCCI's International Trade Headquarters, had to be extremely busy preparing the event from planning to execution for several months. A KCCI official said, "This year’s Davos Forum was an opportunity to promote the bid for the Busan World Expo," adding, "The staff who prepared the event worked hard, and we hope good results will come from it."

The KCCI is asserting its presence as a representative economic organization. Not only domestically but also overseas, it is laying the groundwork for public-private economic cooperation by hosting events attended by the president and serving as a communication channel with the public.

Chairman Choi Tae-won also conveys opinions on economic issues and seeks solutions through meetings with President Yoon.

Chairman Choi accompanied President Yoon not only at the 'Korea Night' event but also during the president’s visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Switzerland. On the 15th (local time), in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, Chairman Choi and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO of Mubadala Investment Company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) partnership, witnessed by President Yoon and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 2nd, President Yoon attended the New Year's gathering jointly hosted for the first time by the KCCI and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz). It was the first time in seven years that a sitting president attended. Many heads of major business groups also attended, strengthening Chairman Choi’s role as the 'eldest brother' of the business community.

Since the launch of the Yoon administration, some conservative circles labeled Chairman Choi as 'pro-Moon' and disparaged him, but such concerns have completely disappeared. This misunderstanding stemmed from Chairman Choi’s interest in corporate roles regarding social issues, including ESG (environment, social, governance), which aligned with the Moon Jae-in administration’s policies.

Chairman Choi has also emphasized public-private cooperation by proposing solutions for regulatory reform to President Yoon. His sincere cooperation with the government beyond political regimes is being recognized.

At a press conference held in Jeju last July, Chairman Choi said, "I told President Yoon that incorporating private sector ideas might help when setting new policy directions," adding, "Since the new government has not been in office for long, it might take some time, but so far, things are progressing rapidly and well."

It is not that Chairman Choi uniquely aligned with the Moon administration. In 2015, during the Park Geun-hye administration, he visited three Creative Economy Innovation Centers in one day as his first field visit after a presidential pardon, showing strong commitment to fostering innovative technologies.

The KCCI has also proposed regulatory innovation tasks suggested by companies and citizens to the Yoon administration and is increasing cooperative projects with the government, such as operating a 'public-private policy communication platform' using the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KCCI communication channels.