FKI says crisis not over

Leaders of the Federation of Korean Industries said Thursday that the Korean economy has not yet emerged from its crisis. In order to overcome the crisis completely, government and business must work together to find solutions to enhancing national competitiveness, and this is the most urgent task, they said.

The federation made the statement as the FKI chairman and executive deputy chairman were attending a summer seminar of chief executive officers at the Cheju Shilla Hotel.

¡°Korea, with little natural resources, must increase exports, and for this the government is required to encourage business activities,¡± Son Kil-Seung, chairman of SK Group, said in a press conference after the annual forum. ¡°The government¡¯s current policy direction is right for now, but it must listen more closely to what businesses need and reflect that in its policies.¡±

Referring to the government¡¯s plan to reform the corporate governance structure, Son suggested that the government should not force all corporations to accept uniform standards. ¡°It is desirable for the government to set guidelines and to have each enterprise select one of them at its own discretion and if necessary to offer incentives or disincentives,¡± he said.

Sohn Byung-Doo, vice chairman of the major conglomerates¡¯ lobbying club, added: ¡°We have to take a lesson from Japan, which succeeded in strengthening corporate competitiveness by creating a joint government-business committee to enhance industrial competitive power.¡± Lee Yong-Teh, honorary chairman of TriGem Computer, said: ¡°The information-technology revolution provides us with a good opportunity. It is not too much to say the revolution is just for Koreans. If we make a good choice of policies, there will be few problems in our swift entry into a society of informationization.¡±