Chairman Park Yong-mann of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) 

delivers his opening message as Vice Minister Choo Kyung-ho of the Ministry of 

Strategy and Finance looks on at a debate on successful economic innovation at the 

KCCI Building in downtown Seoul on April 9. (photo: courtesy of KCCI)

Chairman Park Yong-mann of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said, “The private and public sectors should give and take feedback and engage in teamwork by exchanging proposals and accepting them through regular channels to make economic innovation a success.”

KCCI Chairman Park made the remark while delivering his opening message at a debate on successful economic innovation at the KCCI Building in downtown Seoul on April 9. The session was designed to effectively put into practice a three-year economic innovation plan revealed recently by the government, and it took place behind closed doors so that debaters could express their views without reservations. 

Park stressed that companies, as initiators of economic innovation, have to proactively spearhead it, departing from the past’s way of demanding of previous governments what they want. The government should also not stand in the way of the private sector’s implementation of economic innovation and should explore effective tasks conducive to making economic innovation a success. 

The KCCI chairman said, “Efforts should be made to improve business conditions so that Korean companies can overcome unlimited global competition, restrictions that do not conform to global standards should be torn down, and an impact assessment should be made of new regulations, proposed and approved by parliamentarians.”  Park went on to say that companies themselves have to correct the past’s irrational practices and demonstrate integrity and transparency.

Forty-eight experts from private and government circles partook in the debate, the largest one ever in the 130-year history of the KCCI. The outcomes of the debate are to be conveyed to the government so diverse views from the private sector can be reflected in the government’s process of establishing policies. 

The debate, which lasted for two hours from 1:30 p.m., were divided into three sessions — Session I: Innovating Economic Structure for Creating Jobs; Session II: Building Infrastructure for Beefing Up Economic Dynamics; and Session III: Restoring Advanced Entrepreneurship.

In a prepared statement, President Chung Yoo-shin of Korea Venture Investment Corp. (KVIC) proposed introducing a Korean version of Droege Group of Germany, which provides not only consulting services to mid-size superstars, which have excellent intrinsic values, but are in an unusual state of business recession, yet are also investing to enhance their corporate values.

Prof. Kim Ju-chan, of Kwangwoon University, touched on a pilot program on restriction-free zones in which they are free from new regulations, but areas subject to new regulations are declared, a move to consider determining whether a negative system of restrictions could be expanded. 

Some experts floated ideas about teamwork between the public and private sectors designed to revamp corporate practices and promote job creation. Prof. Shin Hyun-ahn of Yeonsei University said law-abiding management programs should be introduced to prevent illegal corporate practices and whistle blowing systems need to be maximized to ferret out violators after the fact. 

Prof. Lee Shi-uk of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management said it is proper for the government to announce a plan to nurture the top five promising service industries to flesh out its economic innovation plan, but there should be a need for nurturing semi-finished knowledge-based service industries in consideration of Korea’s strength as a manufacturing powerhouse.