By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
A senior executive of one of the nation's largest business lobbies has slammed the government's meager efforts for green growth plans, citing regulatory hurdles.
Lee Dong-keun, the vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), also urged the government to readjust the regulation-decorated ``green growth law,'' which will be effective from April this year for sustainable industrial growth.
``The enforcement ordinances of the new law are against the originality. It heavily weighs on regulations against growth. KCCI asked government authorities for improvements,'' Lee said in a press conference held in Seoul Tuesday.
``KCCI is worrying about competitiveness of the nation's leading companies. The regulation-focused law will also hurt the investment sentiment,'' he said, adding the top-tier conglomerates may drastically relocate their manufacturing bases overseas to escape from heavy environmental regulations.
The warnings came two months after the government pushed for legislation to control pollution by capping allowable greenhouse emission and introducing official statistics on carbon output in order to cut the nation's carbon emissions by 30 percent from a 2020 forecast or a 4 percent reduction from 2005 levels.
South Korea, one of Asia's main economies, has emerged as a leader in the global campaign to fight climate change.
In 2009, the Lee Myung-bak administration set out a five-year green-growth plan that calls for the country to spend 2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) each year on developing environment-friendly businesses and projects.
In tandem with the government's efforts, leading South Korean steel maker POSCO has said it will pour a total of 7 trillion won into renewable energy businesses.
POSCO, which produces about 10 percent of South Korea's gross carbon dioxide, aims to cut a total of 14 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
``There would be further financial burdens for corporations as the government is asking them to buy additional equipment for gauging greenhouse emissions, though there is an international standard for the calculation,'' according to the official.
The vice chairman also requested the government to advance the timing of reduction in corporate income tax rate from the scheduled 2012 to bring more foreign investments.
``More income taxes mean less investment. If the government maintains the higher corporate income taxes, then it might be difficult to attract more investments from promising foreign companies or even local firms,'' Lee insisted.