Ex-PM to stay on as head of shared growth panel

Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said Monday that he will stay on as head of a private panel on shared business growth, putting to rest a controversy over his resignation.

Chung, chairman of the Commission of Shared Growth for Large and Small Companies, expressed his intention to resign last week amid growing criticism over his proposal that large companies share their "excess profits" with smaller contractors.

"I confirmed President Lee Myung-bak's unwavering commitment to pursue policies that can help both conglomerates and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) gain benefits," he said in a meeting with commission members.

The recent controversies surrounding his calls to get large conglomerates to share excess profits with SME contractors should be seen as part of a development process, said Chung, who served as the country's prime minister from 2009-2010.

The proposal calls for large conglomerates to share profits exceeding their targets with subcontractors that have largely been left out of reward sharing. Small companies are constantly under pressure to lower costs or lose the chance to sell their products to conglomerates.

Chung said there is widespread public support for excess profit sharing that needs to be respected, although there is open resistance from the business community and within the government.

"I expected a certain amount of reservation from businesses over the plan," he said. "I was shocked to be attacked by senior government officials."

Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., and Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Joong-kyung have openly slammed Chung's proposal as being unrealistic and conflicting with free market principles.

Critics have added that it is physically impossible to define "excess profits" in corporate accounting since profits are divided among shareholders and employees. (Yonhap)