Trade ass`n urges pres. candidates to help smaller printers

Small and medium-size printing companies are demanding that presidential candidates reflect their proposed "economic democratization" in the process of producing promotional materials, apparently urging that special occasion profits be shared by smaller printers in provincial areas.

The Korea Printing Information Industry Cooperative Association, which represents the country`s 4,000 printing companies, made the demand Tuesday at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in northern Seoul. The association said that if the candidates give promotional materials, it will distribute work to the 11 other associations nationwide.

The group`s chairman Goh Soo-gon said, "Presidential promotional materials have been entrusted to one or two large printing companies via an advertising agency that parties made contracts with. In times when a special demand for election is booming, smaller companies have been excluded from benefitting."

Presidential candidates are estimated to produce 22 million copies of promotional materials worth 3 billion won (2.75 million U.S. dollars) each ahead of the presidential election.

The association said, "The million people working in the printing business will consider a presidential candidate to be lacking the will for economic democratization if he or she gives the work to specific printing companies." adding, "Printing facilities will maintain delivery time and quality regardless of their location. There is a low possibility of the materials being damaged in the process of transport."

tesomiom@donga.com