Business World under Delusion That They Have Been Shortchanged

The Presidential Office of Cheong Wa Dae is at a loss concerning ways to placate the business world.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, neither President Roh Moo-hyun nor economy-related ministers are said to have talked about the fact that the heads of five major industry associations, including the Federation of Korean Industries, strongly criticized the government for its labor policies.

Asked about Cheong Wa Dae`s official position concerning criticism by the heads of the five major conglomerates, Roh`s spokesman Yoon Tae-young said, "There has never been an official debate over the issue."

The office for National Policy seems to have attempted to take criticism from the business world lightly, saying that it is merely based on common complaints.

An official with the National Policy Bureau noted that "it is not understood whether they even talked about relocating plants out of the nation in public. On what grounds are they saying that we sided with labor in the process of settling the Chohung Bank strikes? We just followed principles, but the business world is under the delusion that they have been shortchanged."

Mr. Roh is standing strong with regard to the railway strikes. He will follow the principles of dialogue and compromise to resolve conflicts, another official with the National Policy Bureau said.

Chief Secretary to the President for National Policy Lee Joung-woo spared words on the business world`s collective protests against the government and called upon the nation`s leaders to be patient before it firms up the participatory government`s labor policy over time.

An official with Cheong Wa Dae contended that the government has not sided with labor representatives and that it just took a neutral position, unlike successive governments who had taken sides with management.

However, Cheong Wa Dae is under pressure that the President should offer some rewards to business tycoons in order to boost business investment but it seems embarrassed about not coming to a proper decision on the matter.

In this context, sooner or later the President is expected to invite business leaders to Cheong Wa Dae to listen to their difficulties in managing companies. The President also plans to improve their strained relationship by making him accompanied by CEOs of private companies during his visit to China, scheduled for early next month.

In addition, Cheong Wa Dae has a plan to revive investment by allowing the construction of new plants or enlargement of existing plants in the capital area. However, a lot of difficulties are expected when fine-tuning such ideas even within Cheong Wa Dae.

Young-Hae Choi yhchoi65@donga.com