Korean Companies’ Support Needed for the Promotion of the Nation

“Where are all the Korean companies? I think Korean companies should now also pay for supporting business.”

Donald Gregg, the chairman of the New York-based Korea Society, which was founded to enhance mutual understanding between Korea and the U.S., started his official trip to Korea to raise funds while simultaneously saying that he has been held back.

The major business of the Korea Society, which was modeled after the American-Korean Foundation (AKF) established in 1957, is to inform the U.S. about the Korean economy and culture.

The Korea Society also has recently helped Korean politicians and economic bureaucrats explain the Korean situation to Wall Street investors and has also supported the invitation of American history teachers to Korea to allow them to learn about Korean history and culture.

In this situation, the problem is financial resources. Chairman Gregg noted, “While Korea was on the verge of becoming default in 1997, the support made by Korean companies has drastically decreased,” and also pointed out that the supporting fee by Korean companies made up approximately 45 percent of the total in 1996 but currently reaches a mere 25 percent.

For its part, the Korea Society has so far abstained from requesting support from the Korean companies, which had undergone a so-called “financial crisis,” but it says that as more companies are now making larger amounts of profit than before, the companies should, in the very least, pay as much as they did before the outbreak of the “financial crisis.”

From June 14 to 16, Chairman Gregg will request the expansion of membership and greater supporting fees to large enterprises including LG Corporation, Hyundai Motor Company, SK, as well as financial institutions such as the Korea Federation of Banks, the Korea Securities Dealers Association, and the Federation of Korean Industries.

Kwon-HeuiHong konihong@donga.com