By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
Koreans have been said to hold a strong antipathy against corporations, but a survey found their ill feeling is mostly directed at family-controlled chaebol.
According to the survey released by the Korea Development Institutes (KDI) on Tuesday, wrongdoings by conglomerates and controlling families caused the country's relatively strong anti-corporate sentiment, while the public holds a generally favorable view on small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and professional corporate managers.
In the survey of 2,611 people belonging to various social groups, including government officials, business people and civic group activists, the institute found, except for labor union activists, all other social groups hold generally favorable feelings toward corporations.
The institute conducted the survey from July to August last year. In particularly, respondents feel more positively about SMEs and salaried corporate executives.
Among various social groups in the survey, about 78 percent of economists expressed favorable views toward corporation in general, followed by civil servants with 72 percent and lawmakers with 69 percent. But nearly 65 percent of labor union leaders said they hold an antipathy against companies, businessmen, and the rich.
When asked about chaebol and their founding families and public firms, except for economists and government officials, most respondents showed a negative attitude.
Even among business people, 92 percent of respondents said chaebol are responsible for creating anti-corporate sentiment in the country, followed by chaebol's controlling families with 76 percent, the wealthy with 62 percent and state-run companies with 55 percent.
The majority of respondents cited accounting fraud, illicit wealth transfer and other unethical behavior by chaebol owners, as the main reasons for public animosity against the country's large business groups.
When asked about corporations' utmost goal, around 82 percent of economists and financial professional cited maximizing profits, followed by journalists with 67 percent and lawmakers with 53 percent.
But nearly 74 percent of labor union leaders, 50 percent of civil servants and 49 percent of schoolteachers said returning profits back to society should be the most important corporate goal.
``The survey found a strong correlation between anti-corporate sentiment and an attitude toward chaebol, controlling families and the rich. The more one views conglomerates negatively, the stronger his or her anti-corporate sentiment is,'' the KDI said.
It said dubious corporate behaviors committed by chaebol and founding families over the years, including collusion with politicians and accounting fraud, are the main factors behind the public's anti-corporate sentiment, adding the country should establish a fair and strict legal system to encourage conglomerates to manage themselves through ethical and transparent management.
``Also, the survey found schoolteachers, civil servants and labor union leaders are lacking in knowledge about the market economy. The government should strengthen public education about the market economy and introduce a range of incentives to help companies improve their public image and contribute more to society,'' the institute said.