Chairman Park Yong-maan of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said he would like to expand the economic exchange with North Korea this year in cooperation with the North Korean Commercial Association to the extent that the two business organizations would act as windows for inter-Korean business exchanges.
KCCI will try to widen the doors for trade with the North this year by taking charge of such matters as the issuance of the original sources of the materials and extend support to exports bound for the North. But this will only happen if the North take steps to liberalize its economy this year.
The chairman made the statement at a New Year’s media conference on Dec. 22 at the KCCI building in Seoul.
He said it has been a while since the markets were allowed to grow freely in the North as part of a drive to move to a market economy, “and we ought to change our understanding on the concern for the strength of the North Korean regime,” he said.
Park said one things South Korean traders can do is to introduce North Korean goods to foreign buyers so that they can export them to the world. The KCCI would be able to provide support to North Korean exporters by issuing original “certificates of goods” from the North based on certificates issued by the North Korean Commercial Association.
“We may be able to exchange the green house gas exposure rights, too, although it may take a little while to come to that,” the KCCI chairman said.
He said the KCCI still has to get government approval for its ambitious plan. But he said such cooperation with the North would be possible for the KCCI because he is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s Executive Committee.
He also urged parliamentary approvals for various reforms of government regulations that are currently up for approval at the National Assembly.
The entire business community is keen on the development of new business areas such as drones and Fintech, which are sweeping the global business community. “We have to reform government regulations that forbid business firms from starting any business unless they have government approval, and those regulations should be changed to allow them to start any businesses without government approvals, except those that are forbidden and need government approvals,” he said in reference to the government regulations up for review at the National Assembly.
Park also asked for opposition parties to give more respects to business firms, urging them to approve the reform bill called the Business Revitalization Special Law. Any clauses in the law that could be abused by businesses have been removed, he said.
Park also said he was sorry for jobless youth, adding that he will try his best to create a culture for them to find jobs.
Park also said a survey showed that 100 companies do overnight work two or three days every week, which needs to be changed to make their operations more effective and productive.
Park said the Korean economy has seen better days, but it will improve with patience and time. A recovery will come when global markets return to normal, he said.
He hoped that the new economic team gets the cooperation of the legislative branch to improve the business environment for the business community.
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