Korea better than Saudi at forming long-term relations with small nations: KCCI chair

By Park Jae-hyuk

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Chey Tae-won dismissed concerns that Busan may fall behind the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh in their competition to host World Expo 2030.

The business lobby group's chairman, who leads the civilian committee to support Busan's Expo bid, emphasized that Korea is superior to the Middle Eastern country in terms of forming cooperative long-term relations with the small nations that belong to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which will vote in November next year to choose the venue for the international event.

“In terms of sending messages globally to future generations, Korea is better than Saudi Arabia,” Chey told reporters during Wednesday's press conference. “Using its natural resources as leverage, Saudi has just offered to distribute certain amounts of money to small countries.”

In response to skepticism about Korean businesspeople visiting small nations to convince them to vote for Busan, the chairman said their trips to such countries can create new opportunities amid the current global trade order, which is under the influence of the U.S. on the one hand and China on the other.

“Almost all countries have already made the 'decision to leave' some countries, which was unprecedented in the past,” he said, citing the title of one of the most successful Korean films of this year. “We should pioneer smaller markets and make efforts to attract them.”

From that standpoint, he warned businesses against maintaining the status quo. He also advised policymakers here to come up with fresh economic policies next year, as the previous policies might be less effective under the rapidly changing market conditions.

“Korean companies will be able to adapt to the change much quicker than most other countries,” he said. “The government needs to implement policies that can minimize the negative impacts next year.”

Although the KCCI chairman urged domestic companies to seek new opportunities in various countries, he did not rule out the importance of Korea's conventional economic partners, such as the U.S., China and Japan.

In particular, he called for the restoration of friendship with Japan, given that the neighboring country of Korea is also facing difficulties in coping with the changing market conditions.

Regarding the U.S.' Inflation Reduction Act, he did not expect the U.S. to stop carrying out protectionist trade policies, although he agreed with the necessity of efforts to convince Washington to minimize discriminatory clauses.

“Under the pretext of security, restrictive policies will continue to come out of various countries,” he said.

As the chairman of SK Group, which includes chipmaker SK hynix, he anticipated that the global semiconductor market will bottom out earlier than expected, because the market cycle has been shorter than in the past.

In response to a report that the KCCI had asked the government to grant special presidential pardons to business tycoons later this year, he refused to express his opinions on this issue.