Companies cynical about meeting with President
The majority of corporate officials expressed a cynical view toward President Moon Jae-in’s meeting with business moguls Tuesday, arguing it was the latest in a series of public relations events by the pro-labor administration to rebrand it as business-friendly.
In reality, the government has been maintaining, or strengthening in some cases, a host of regulations over the past two years, stifling corporate activities, the officials complained.
Cheong Wa Dae said Moon held candid discussions at the townhall-style meeting, which brought together Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Senior Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and other high-profile business executives as well as the heads of mid-sized companies.
But officials in the business community said the Moon administration has only been pressuring firms to increase investments and spending to boost the economy.
“Moon did not mention measures to ease business regulations, nor say anything about policies to help companies focus on management efficiently,” an official at one of the conglomerates said on condition of anonymity. “The Moon administration sticks to policies such as the 52-hour workweek and higher minimum wages, which violate the autonomy of companies. Then, the President is asking firms to increase hiring. I think it is illogical that Moon sat down with business leaders to listen to their difficulties.”
The new working hour system, which went into effect in July 2018, reduced the maximum working hours per week to 52 from 68. Firms have expressed complaints that they have difficulties in adjusting to the new system due to the characteristics of each industry.
The government raised the minimum wage by 16.4 percent to 7,530 won per hour on Jan. 1 last year, the biggest hike in nearly two decades, and increased it by 10.9 percent to 8,350 won this year. The government has pledged to increase the wage to 10,000 won by 2020.
Those in the IT business were more cynical about Moon’s meeting as they have had difficulties in expanding due to strict government regulations.
“I doubt the government is willing to relax regulations,” an official from a telecommunications firm said. “There have been concerns that the nation’s IT industry has lagged behind global competitors in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I doubt Moon held a meaningful discussion with businesspeople to overcome this crisis.”
While NCSOFT CEO Kim Taek-jin and Netmarble founder Bang Jun-hyuk represented the game industry in the meeting with Moon, officials in that industry also gave a skeptical response, saying they were tired of toughening regulations and the negative perceptions of games.
“The game industry has suffered falling sales. There have been various factors, with the 52-hour workweek cap cited as one of them,” an official from a game firm said. “The industry is facing other negative factors this year including the World Health Organization’s push to designate game addiction as a mental disorder. I doubt the government will side with the game industry in dealing with this issue.”