European firms hope new gov't will speed up reform

European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) President Christoph Heider speaks at presentation of a Business Confidence Survey 2016 at Seoul Square in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of ECCK

By Park Jae-hyuk

European business leaders here will call on the next president to reduce ambiguous regulations and to reform the labor market, both of which have been halted since the political turmoil from the scandal involving President Park Geun-hye.

Releasing the results of a survey of 131 European companies operating here, Tuesday, the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) said that 60 percent of its member firms have felt more difficulty in doing business in Korea compared to previous years.

"Labor reform was originally expected to be implemented in the first half of 2016," said ECCK President Christoph Heider. "Since the second half of the year, deregulation has not been pursued anymore, I think we have to wait and see the next president about deregulations."

The survey indicated that about half of the participating companies were dissatisfied with the government's reform policy last year and are not confident that it will start to implement meaningful reforms anytime soon.

According to the European chamber, the results might have been affected by the recent political crisis, noting that the survey was conducted between Nov. 14 and Dec. 2 last year.

However, some business leaders said the recent political situation may positively influence Korea, as the whole world has witnessed the peaceful public months-long candlelit rallies and the next president will know the people are watching.

Heider also said the political situation will not have much impact on foreign investment in the short term, so the country should focus more on alleviating the so-called "Galapagos regulations" that are isolated from global standards.

"It is more important how Korea will implement reforms after the political situation is stabilized," he said, "and how fair and transparent the business environment becomes."

The European firms said the discretionary enforcement of regulations and the unpredictable legislative environment are the top two obstacles when doing business here, which have been criticized for several years in previous surveys.

Those businesses urged the Korean government not to discriminate against foreign companies in public procurement as well. But still, the European business leaders emphasized that Korea is and will continue to be an important market for them.

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