“Stock-related Voting Rights Should Be Restricted For Pension Funds”

The four economic associations, including the Federation of Korean Industries, elucidated that exercising of voting rights should be fundamentally restricted in the case of investing pension funds in private firms in order to prevent interference in management on November 23. This is the first time that the economic world has expressed a restriction of voting rights on pension funds officially.

Recently, they also strongly urged political authorities at the National Assembly State Affairs Committee to reconsider the revised bill of the Fair Trade Law, which was passed single-handedly by the government party de-facto, before it becomes settled at the plenary session.

The four economic associations, including the Federation of Korean Industries, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea International Trade Association, and the Korea Employers Federation, held an emergency meeting among full-time vice-presidential circles at the Shilla Hotel located in Seoul on November 23, and announced “a Proposal of the Economic World To Break Through The Economic Crisis”, consisting of content discussed in the meeting.

The four economic associations related the government’s plan to increase investment on pension funds by saying, “Although investment on pension funds does have a positive aspect, it must be considered along with the stability of the fund.” and emphasized, “Exercising voting rights should be fundamentally restricted, especially with the existing concern for interference in management of private firms.”

In relation to the Fair Trade Law, the four economic associations urged the political authorities by saying, “Please revise the law by focusing on wiping out the concerns of industries during the Assembly’s remaining legislative process, such as dealing with the plenary session of the National Assembly.”

Joong-Hyun Park sanjuck@donga.com