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| Global Companies' CEO Association Chairman and Menarini Korea country manager Albert Kim speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seolleung, southern Seoul, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Yi Whan-woo
The Global Companies' CEO Association (GCCA) will focus on voicing concerns, or representing needs, of more multinational companies operating here, particularly smaller ones, the head of the association said Thursday.
"There are about 2,500 multinational companies operating in Korea. Among them, many are globally very big but relatively small here," GCCA Chairman Albert Kim said during an interview at the office of Menarini Korea in Seolleung, southern Seoul.
The company is the Korean arm of the Italy-based Menarini Group, one of the world's largest biopharmaceutical firms.
"The association was initiated by a group of CEOs who represent such multinational companies. We don't necessarily focus on regions or continents, and we cover all industries. That's the distinct color of and purpose behind the GCCA. So, we try to represent more companies across industries and regions," the 40-year-old Korean-Canadian said.
Since the GCCA was launched on Feb. 12, some 100 CEOs of foreign companies' operations in Seoul have joined or plan to do so, Kim said. They include Ford, ChoicePharma, NSF and Ingersoll Rand.
The GCCA was set up under the approval of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Kim said firms from all continents are welcome to join the GCCA, including those from the United States and Europe, which are already represented here through the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) and European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK).
"AMCHAM (Korea) and ECCK are relatively region-based, and the voices of big companies are well-represented through these big associations," he said.
"Yet, these associations represent bigger issues that are associated with bigger companies. They are really well-established and have very good members, but often, they represent more of the issues of the big companies because they have bigger shares of the markets.
"However, we are open to communicate and cooperate with these associations when the interest and needs meet GCCA objective."
Kim stressed that the GCCA is open to any firm regardless of size, saying it doesn't have limitations on the companies that want to join.
One of the main goals of the GCCA this year is to tackle obstacles through cooperation with the government, Kim said.
"There are a lot of limitations and restrictions for small multinational firms, making us think twice about whether to invest in Korea or elsewhere. Investing in Korea compared to investing in other countries such as Singapore is not very attractive.
"There are many R&D incentives given to multinationals operating in Singapore. The same amount of investment in Korea would not be as profitable as the same amount in Singapore. I think the limited opportunity for growth in Korea owing to strict regulations and lack of incentives has prompted companies to invest elsewhere."
He also said the GCCA will try to fulfill the Park Geun-hye administration's creativity-based economic paradigm by working with universities in their research and creating more jobs. He added that the association will also prioritize corporate social responsibility activities.
Kim further said he looks forward to building close ties with the government while enhancing relationship with colleges, too.
"What we're focusing on is networking and CEO education in the first half," he said.
"In the latter half, we'll embark on partnership with universities, so that we're able to provide some intelligence and knowledge to share with university students to help them on how to prepare for their future and what they can expect before they enter the industries.
"At the same time we'll try to work with government agencies to represent our needs."
Kim's family moved to Canada when he was in middle school. He said his Korean-Canadian background will help him to carry out his role as the GCCA chairman.
"My main objective has been blending the strength of both Western and Korean cultures. Because I understand the differences between the two, it gives me the opportunity to harmonize and put them together to create different cultures that are not necessarily Korean or Western."
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