Minister Has Business-Friendly Stance

“I will improve the legal system in favor of business in the era of infinite global competition,” said Minister of Justice Kim Seong-ho (photo), who is attracting attention with his business-friendly stance.

“In the era of change, business moves 100 miles per hour while legal authorities move only 1 mile per hour,” he said at a lecture under the theme of legal policy directions for the establishment of a business-friendly environment at the Korea Chamber of Commerce in Seoul on Thursday. He added, “Law and principles are the social capital for the economic development.”

“For a good government, strong arms and enough food are also important, but the people’s trust is the most important,” he added, quoting the words of Confucius. “A government that fails to earn the trust of the people cannot last long,” he emphasized.

He also commented on labor and business.

“Until now, the vicious cycle of increasing wages when practicing strikes was repeated. I will make sure that now labor unions do not gain benefit from their illegal actions,” he warned.

“The greatest weakness of our businesses is lack of transparency. Now we are being tolerant to those who correct their past wrongful accounting practices. So businesses should take this as an opportunity to make corrections,” he urged the business community.

During the Q&A session, in response to the comment that more than three directors in a listed company that has 500 million won of capital is burdensome, he replied, “I will look into decreasing the number of directors in a small company with less than 50 employees.”

In relation to the special amnesty of businessmen, he replied, “Nothing has been decided yet.”

sanhkim@donga.com needjung@donga.com