Chairman Kim Ki-moon of Korea Federation of SMEs (KBIZ) gives his opening speech at a New Year’s meeting of SME businessmen at the KBIZ headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Jan. 19.

Korea Federation of SMEs (KBIZ) held a committee meeting on arbitration of SME payments of goods and services from large-sized companies, the first such gathering of this year, at KBIZ headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Feb. 5.

The meeting took place in the wake of the revision of the Act on Promoting Shared Growth between Large-and Small-sized Companies, allowing KBIZ instead of SMEs to arbitrate payments of goods and services from large-sized companies. It goes into effect in April.

Industry experts participating in the meeting shared the view that complicated requirements for SME cooperatives’ request for KBIZ’s arbitration of payments should be eased, and ways of preventing retaliatory acts against related SMEs should be worked out.

Specifically, they proposed recommendations such as the easing of requirements of applying arbitration and the imposing of incentives and penalties to large-sized companies.

Chairman Suh Byung-moon of the committee, said, “Polarization among economic bodies is expected to get more serious in the wake of a crisis, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

He added that his committee will do its utmost to spread an environment in which goods and services are offered due prices and a virtuous cycle of the economy can be created so that large- and small-sized companies can promote shared growth.

KBIZ officials participate in a committee meeting on arbitration of SME payments of goods and services from large-sized companies at KBIZ headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Jan. 5. (Photos: KBIZ)

KBIZ Chmn. Kim Calls for Overhaul of 52-Hour Workweek

KBIZ Chairman Kim Ki-mun held a New Year’s gathering at KBIZ headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Jan. 19 in which he called for the relaxing of the Act on Penalizing Those who Cause Serious Disasters and reprieving a 52-hour workweek system once again.

Chairman Kim made the requests, saying that SMEs were facing with the worst economic situation in which 60.3 percent of SMEs saw sales decline since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

As for the Act on Penalizing Those who Cause Serious Disasters, approved by the National Assembly on Jan. 8, Chairman Kim appealed for easing the act so as not to make SME businessmen potential criminals.

He also asked for retrieving the 52-hour workweek of some businesses, including “root industries” until the pandemic is over.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said the government will ramp up efforts to build a win-win partnership eco-system between large- and small-sized companies.

He said the government would carefully consider whether a few tasks mentioned by Chairman Kim would be taken up.

Among those on hand at the gathering were Prime Minister Chung, Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), Minister Lee Jae-gap of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), Chairman Lee Nak-yeon of the ruling Minju Party, Chairman Kim Jong-in of People Power Party, and Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of the Korea Employers Federation.