KEF Delivers 19 Recommendations to National Assembly to Strengthen Corporate Competitiveness

Urges Swift Passage of Special Act on Super-Regional Special Zones
Rehiring After Retirement Preferred to Extending Retirement Age
Improve Voting System for Industrial Action Approval

Business community recommendations aimed at strengthening corporate competitiveness have been delivered to the National Assembly.

Lee Donggeun, Standing Vice Chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

The Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) said on November 10 that it had selected 19 recommendations needed to boost economic activity and strengthen corporate competitiveness during the regular session of the National Assembly and delivered them to lawmakers.

The KEF prepared its recommendations by grouping them into bills that need to pass the National Assembly swiftly, bills pending in the National Assembly that require careful review, and bills that need to be introduced promptly.

Among the bills requiring swift passage, the KEF proposed the recently introduced “Special Act on Super-Regional Special Zones” to encourage companies to invest, as well as supplementary legislation to reduce confusion arising from the expanded definitions of employers and labor disputes under the amendments to the Trade Union Act.

The KEF said that introducing improvements to the flexible work system and a white-collar exemption under the Special Act on Super-Regional Special Zones would help encourage corporate investment and hiring, and urged the National Assembly to proceed with related discussions promptly.

Regarding the Trade Union Act, the KEF said bills clarifying the scope of employers as “those with decision-making authority over working conditions to a degree that they can be equated with the employer” need to pass swiftly, noting that the ambiguity in the scope of employers has been repeatedly criticized, including during parliamentary audits.

It also stressed that the definition of labor disputes must clearly exclude “the distribution of profits” and “personnel assignments and transfers” resulting from high-level management decisions. This, it said, would protect shareholders’ interests and prevent obstacles to companies’ active investment.

Among the bills requiring careful review, the KEF cited extending the statutory retirement age, which could deepen intergenerational conflict, and the worker presumption system, which could lead to job losses. It said that a uniform extension of the retirement age could reduce companies’ capacity to hire new employees and worsen youth unemployment, and that “rehiring after retirement” should be considered as an alternative.

The KEF also expressed concern that the worker presumption system, intended to protect workers in special types of employment and others, is incompatible with the current labor law framework and could increase the business burden on small businesses and small merchants, resulting in job losses.

Finally, among the bills that should be introduced promptly, the KEF proposed changes to the rules of employment procedure for revising wage systems and measures to improve the system for voting on whether to approve industrial action.

Lee Dong-geun, full-time executive vice chairman of the KEF, said, “I hope the National Assembly will listen to the voices of businesses on the ground about what they truly need amid a rapidly changing business environment. We will actively put forward the business community’s views, focusing on the relevant standing committees.”

He added, “Companies will be able to strengthen their competitiveness only if tax support to encourage investment is expanded and measures to prevent the leakage of core technologies are put in place swiftly.”

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