Kim Yong-geun, Vice Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, Resigns... "Feeling Powerless Against Anti-Business Legislation"

On the 12th, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in the Press Center, Jung-gu, Seoul, Kim Yong-geun, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, is speaking at the Korea-Japan Industry Cooperation and Competition Forum jointly hosted by the Korea Employers Federation and Hyundai Research Institute. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Kim Yong-geun, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, has expressed his intention to resign with one year remaining in his term.

According to the business community on the 14th, Vice Chairman Kim conveyed his resignation to internal personnel, including Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of the Federation, before the Lunar New Year holiday and requested discussions on his successor.

Vice Chairman Kim assumed the position after Song Young-jung, then Vice Chairman of the Federation, was dismissed in 2018 when Kim was serving as Chairman of the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. He was reappointed in February last year and was serving a two-year term.

It is reported that Vice Chairman Kim expressed to those around him his intention to take responsibility after the government and ruling party passed the 'Fair Economy 3 Acts,' amendments to the Labor Union Act, and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act one after another, despite opposition from the Federation and the business community.

A Federation official said, "The Federation led opposition to the enactment of anti-business laws, but the government and the National Assembly did not listen at all, which made Vice Chairman Kim feel a great sense of helplessness," adding, "In particular, as Vice Chairman of the Federation, he repeatedly apologized to member companies for not being able to prevent the passage of the Labor Union Act."

The Federation plans to hold a board meeting on the 17th to discuss the successor to Vice Chairman Kim and is expected to appoint a successor at the general meeting as early as the 24th.

Potential successors to Vice Chairman Kim include Lee Dong-geun, President of the Hyundai Research Institute, and Ryu Ki-jung, Executive Director of the Federation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.