Businesses Hope for Turnaround
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Some 70 business leaders, including chiefs of the country’s four largest conglomerates, were among the 25,000 guests at the National Assembly as President Lee Myung-bak was sworn in as the new head of state Monday.
The main business groups including the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) also issued statements to congratulate the launch of a new administration, with wishes for an economic revival in the five years to come.
The FKI, the country’s largest business lobby group, said that it expects the new leader to open up a new era of economic revitalization.
``The new administration should focus on the creation of jobs,’’ the federation said. ``For that, we expect the administration to foster a market-friendly business environment so that businessmen can indulge in exciting management.’’
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) also urged the new administration to make efforts to help enterprises expand their investment and increase jobs.
An official from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said that the launch of the new administration would serve as a fresh impetus to the nation’s economy.
The Korea Federation of Small Business (KFSB), for its part, expressed hopes that Lee would pay special attention to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as the new leader stressed that the SMEs should play an active role in creating more jobs.
``We hope that his `business-friendly’ policies will turn into `small business-friendly’ ones,’’ the KFSB said in its statement.
Officials from the Korea Employers Federation (KEF) suggested that the Lee administration achieve the two different goals of social stability as well as economic development through the stabilization of labor-management relations.
Major enterprises also expressed hopes for the launch of the Lee administration.
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group said that Lee’s policies, including the alleviation of various regulations, would be of much help to the company.
``We will do our best to invest more and create jobs in response to the new administration’s policies to activate the economy,’’ a group spokesman said.
LG Group Vice President Chung Sang-kook hoped that South Korea would secure an important opportunity in the coming five years to join the ranks of advanced countries.
Lee, a former CEO of Hyundai Group’s construction arm, was elected in the Dec. 19 presidential election last year with support from voters for his pro-business and market-oriented policies.
Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo and other business tycoons as well as FKI Chairman Cho Suck-rai and other heads of business groups such as KCCI and KITA were invited to the inauguration ceremony.