Big businesses in Moon’s sniper range

President Moon Jae-in (left) took office vowing to reform the family-run conglomerates, or chaebol, that dominate the economy

He has nominated an economist nicknamed ‘chaebol sniper’ for his shareholder activist campaigns as head of the antitrust regulator

A South Korean retail giant has shelved controversial expansion plans, while a large bank made hundreds of contract jobs permanent after President Moon Jae-in took office vowing to reform the family-run conglomerates that dominate the economy.

The 64-year-old liberal leader campaigned on a platform of curbing the power of the conglomerates, or chaebol. On Wednesday, he nominated an economist nicknamed “chaebol sniper” for his shareholder activist campaigns as head of the antitrust regulator.

Moon has yet to spell out his reform agenda, and the fractured Parliament, controlled by conservative and moderate politicians, would likely only support modest changes, given the chaebol’s outsized role in the economy.

But some companies are choosing to stay out of the crosshairs even before they see any legislation. Business lobby groups say they will work with Moon in creating jobs - the president’s No.1 priority according to his advisers.

South Korea’s four biggest chaebol groups Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG - account for half the country’s stock market value. They released full-page ads after Moon’s election, featuring his photo and saying they “will be with (him) to make a better country.”

“They don’t want to be the first to cause some kind of a problem,” said Chang Sea-jin, professor of business administration at National University of Singapore. “It’s time to be very careful.”

Big business, however, has largely stayed silent on Moon’s call to create jobs, underscoring the challenges in delivering on his signature agenda. Moon pledged to create 810,000 public sector jobs and has chastised the chaebol for not hiring.

Moon has vowed to end the practice of pardoning convicted corporate criminals and to break the nexus of business and politics that was exposed in the scandal that led to the ouster of former president Park Geun-hye and the arrest of Samsung chief Jay Y. Lee.