Seizing the Day
Ruling Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung mentioned the necessity of chaebol reform on Sept. 2. “Chaebol reform must be accompanied by the government’s four major reform initiatives to be successful, and my party will take the lead so it can happen,” he remarked, implying that his party will not surrender the initiative to opposition parties in dealing with the issue traditionally more advocated by the opposition. The remarks, which are said to have to do with his recent declaration to turn his party into a reformist conservative group, can be interpreted as a gesture to win over centrists with regard to the reform initiatives.
Still, the ruling party leader mentioned no specific task to that end. It is expected that he will deal first with the parts that recently disappointed the general public, such as the mess concerning corporate ownership between heirs and despotic management based on backwards governance. “What he said can be seen as a countermeasure to the opposition parties’ slogan for job creation by means of chaebol reform and an attempt to dilute the progressive’s and the centrist’s opposition to the government’s and the ruling party’s claim that labor market reform should come first for youth employment,” Myongji University professor Kim Hyung-joon explained.
In his speech on that day, the ruling party leader put a particular emphasis on the importance of labor and financial reforms. “At present, only 10.3 percent of employees in Korea are associated with trade unions, and their vested rights are hindering the welfare of the other young people and non-regular workers,” he said, showing a strong dissatisfaction with the labor conditions and unions of some conglomerates by using the word “unjust” with regard to seniority systems, pay steps, and aristocratic and militant activities regarding some labor unions.
He added that the stage should be set for the establishment of financial companies capable of surviving global competition in respect to financial reform. “According to the World Economic Forum, Korea ranks 80th or so in financial competitiveness, and we need to get rid of parachute appointments, intervention in management, and the like to climb up the rankings,” he stressed.