It also disapproved demands from the labor community, such as the union’s involvement in management and the transformation of irregular workers into regular workers, which will likely cause considerable conflict between management and the labor unions in future collective wage negotiations.

The Executive deputy chiefs of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and the Cooperative of Small-and-Medium Businesses met at a hotel in Seoul and stated, “We express our concern and regret about recent government policies. Although the government should put the highest priority on economic recovery and job creation through corporate investment, it instead revised the Fair Trade Law in a way that discourages corporate activities.”

Five major business circle leaders are in a meeting held at a hotel in Seoul on Friday morning. (From right) Jang Ji-jong, vice chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business; Hyun Myoung-gwan, vice chairman of the Federation of Korea Industries; Lee Seok-young, vice chairman of the Korea International Trade Association and Kim Young-bae, vice chairman of the Korea Employers Federation.

The five economic organizations urged the government to repeal current policies concerning the share-voting rights of financial subsidiaries and account tracking.

They also demanded the abolishing of a regulation that limits the total amount of investment by large companies with more than W5 trillion of assets to 25 percent of net assets.

The government and labor, however, refused to accept their demand and said that, they will push for the revision of the Fair Trade Law and union’s involvement in management as planned.

FKI’s Executive Deputy Chief Hyun Myoung-gwan said, “The government should pursue reform that helps revive the economy, not one that hampers corporate investments and job creation." The executive chiefs of the five organizations will meet around late May to set up countermeasures. They may hold a public meeting to inform the citizens of the real economic situation.

With regards to the issue of union involvement in management that was raised during the selling-off of Daewoo Heavy Industries and Machinery, the five organizations said it is acceptable to disclose information to ensure transparency in management, but to interfere in management is an infringement of managerial rights, which is the essence of capitalism. KEF’s Executive Deputy Chief Kim Young-bae maintained that union involvement in management will impede corporate management and that for economic recovery, economic principles should be predominant in this business place at least, regardles of the political situation.

(Cho Hyeong-rae, hrcho@chosun.com )