Moon urges action on fair economy

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday, to discuss implementing policies for a fair economy, participated in by 30 officials from related ministries, the private sector and the National Assembly. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

President Moon Jae-in set out to promote the achievements of his policy aimed at achieving a fair economy during an event at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday.

The event comes 20 days after Moon named Kim Sang-jo, former head of the Fair Trade Commission, as the presidential chief of staff for policy. Cheong Wa Dae previously held a strategy meeting on Jan. 23 on the creation of a fair economy, where the President called on public agencies and corporations to take the initiative for change as they are closely related to the peoples' livelihoods. Entering the third year of his presidency, Moon has stressed that it is important for people to feel the outcome of his policies.

Fair economy is one of the three pillars of Moon's key economic policies, along with income-led growth and innovative growth. There has been much controversy regarding the income-led growth initiatives, particularly Moon's push for a steep rise in the minimum wage, which has led to job losses and pay cuts at small businesses. The innovative growth policy has also been slow to show tangible results, with the nation still falling behind international competitors in developing future industries and technologies for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as 5G mobile communication, artificial intelligence, drones and hydrogen-powered electric vehicles. Under his administration, there has not been visible progress in the regulatory reforms required to establish a better environment for startups.

The President, however, has shown more confidence in the progress of his policy for a fair economy, which he has stressed as the backbone for realizing income-led and innovation growth. “A fair economy is about realizing fairness and justice in the economic ecosystem,” Moon said during opening remarks at the event. “Without a fair economy, there cannot be innovative or inclusive growth.”

During the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday, some public agencies that have displayed some benchmark practices toward establishing a fair economy presented their cases.

The organizations invited to present their cases include the Korea Land & Housing Corporation; Incheon International Airport Corporation; Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO); Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS); Korean Water Resources Corporation (K-water); Busan Port Authority; and Public Home Shopping.

Relevant ministers, including finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, and lawmakers also took part in the discussion after case presentations from the agencies.

“The meeting was organized to check on the progress in pursuing a fair economy and to discuss and spread the culture of fair trade by public organizations so that the public can actually experience the warm impact of a fair economy in their lives,” a presidential aide said Tuesday.

During the meeting, Moon emphasized the need to promote fair competition as a key ingredient in revitalizing the economy. “A transparent and free market is the best market,” Moon said. “When breaches of rules and privileges disappear, the small and medium-sized businesses can direct their passion toward better products. Conglomerates can also raise their competitiveness and gain respect from society,” Moon said. “Only when fair competition is guaranteed, the economy will regain vitality and our potential growth rate will increase.”

The Moon administration has pushed for the reform of corporate governance, protection of consumer rights and promoting cooperation among large and small companies as some of the key objectives in establishing a fair economy.

According to a press release by Cheong Wa Dae, some large companies such as Naver, POSCO and Shinhan Bank have signed an MOU to join the government's initiative for promoting cooperation with small companies. Also, there has been a decline in the number of cases where large companies demand unreasonable discounts from their subcontractors. In addition, there have been improvements in realizing fairer business practices between franchisers and franchisees and in the protection of subcontractors.

“We saw a 50 percent increase in the number of companies that adopted the 'performance sharing system.' The foundation for win-win cooperation between large and small and medium sized companies has been established.” Moon said. “Subcontractors, franchises and retail workers will have experienced that trade practices have improved.”

For further progress in promoting fair economy, Moon urged the National Assembly to quickly process pending bills.