New AMCHAM leader calls for deregulation

James Kim, left, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) and Country Manager of Microsoft Korea, gives his speech alongside Amy Jackson, President of AMCHAM Korea to the members of the press at the "AMCHAM New Year's Press Conference 2014" held at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap

By Choi Kyong-ae

James Kim, the new chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM), called on Seoul, Wednesday, to further deregulate and offer predictability for foreign businesses.

In a press conference held in central Seoul, Kim and AMCHAM President Amy Jackson said improvements are needed to lure foreign investment into Korea.

The foreign business community was encouraged by President Park Geun-hye's recent pledge that her government, "will make the Korean economy more transparent and predictable by making the regulatory process more deliberative and by seeking increased interaction with stakeholders when formulating new policies," Kim told reporters.

In the process, "I hope I can leverage my multi-cultural and multi-lingual abilities to ensure that a win-win outcome becomes a reality," he said. Kim is the first Korean-American to become chairman of the American business lobby in Korea.

AMCHAM has led the foreign business community's request that the government take steps to ease the unpredictability of economic policies and excessive regulations in the business environment, which they say still remain a major hurdle for foreign companies.

Kim and Jackson acknowledged that the business and investment environments have improved a lot in recent years, and efforts are being made to decrease the amount of regulation and unpredictability.

Jackson said, however, "There are still many instances where rules and regulations in Korea that affect foreign businesses, as well as domestic businesses, change too quickly without adequate input from stakeholders and perhaps, in some cases, without adequate assessment on whether the new policies will have the desired effect without unintended consequences."

She went on to say that if you ask any AMCHAM member what the biggest hurdle is in doing business here, it is predictability and transparency in the marketplace. Companies, both domestic and foreign, need a predictable marketplace so they can adequately assess their personal needs, their costs, and how much money they can allocate in research and development, she said.

Jackson said, "This is one area President Park plans to focus on moving forward to try to take new procedures and steps to make sure that there is more predictability and transparency in the regulatory process," and noted the foreign community was happy to hear that

Kim said his information-technology career will help promote communication and business ties between the two countries. He currently serves as general manager and CEO of Microsoft Korea.

"Clearly times have changed a lot. We have our first female president and the U.S. Ambassador (to Korea) Sung Kim is the first Korean-American. With the IT side, times are changing rapidly. Given that the words innovation and creative economy are so important, I believe that my background in IT will be very helpful as we work together with Korea and U.S. industries," Kim said.

In line with the government's efforts to make the Korean economy more innovative and creative, U.S. companies are "considering expanding their presence in Korea or making new investments, so that they can form deeper partnerships with Korean partners, as well as employ talented Korean workers," he said.

To realize this "golden" opportunity to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and create jobs, he advised Korean companies to "not only continue with their reform and deregulation agenda, but to aggressively advance initiatives to improve Korea's creativeness and national competitiveness," said Kim.

"Competition for FDI has never been fiercer and Korea must be able to compete with the best of the best."

Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, received $9.48 billion in FDI last year, down from the previous year's $10.6 billion, according to the trade ministry.

As foreign companies continue to ask the question, "Why should we invest in Korea?" ― particularly when they also consider countries such as China, Japan, India and Indonesia, which are much bigger in size than Korea ― Kim said Korea should have its own strengths.

"Even after being implemented, a constant cycle of feedback, assessment and fine-tuning through constant and close communication is crucial," he said.

Kim, 51, has been the chief of Microsoft Korea since February 2009. He was CEO of Yahoo Korea from 2007 after he worked as Asia regional vice-president of Overture, a wholly-owned unit of Yahoo, from 2005.

Kim began his one-year term as chairman on Jan. 1 replacing Patrick Gaines. He will continue to lead Microsoft Korea and his tenure with AMCHAM may be extended by another year at the discretion of the membership.

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