[News Article] AMCHAM Special Meeting with Lee Jae-Myung - DP's Lee tells AMAHCM he will reduce red …
DP's Lee tells
AMAHCM he will reduce red tape
By Yoon
So-Yeon, Korea JoongAng Daily - Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee
Jae-myung promised to liberalize laws involving foreign companies and their
trade with Korea. “It is crucial that the law does
not hinder competition among companies,” Lee said during a meeting with the
American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) held in Yeouido, western Seoul,
Thursday.
“The speed in which the world is
changing is so fast that the law cannot predict what will happen and then
regulate in advance. So we must break free from allowing certain things for
companies and prohibiting the rest, to only barring certain things and allowing
the rest.”
Attending
the meeting were executives from 12 U.S. companies in Korea: 3M Korea, Applied
Materials Korea, Cubb Korea, Philip Morris International Korea, Qualcomm Korea,
General Electric (GE) Korea, Pfizer Korea, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) Korea,
General Motors (GM) Korea, MGE International, Delta Airlines and
Cytiva Korea.
Lee’s
pledge was in line with a statement he made earlier this month during a meeting
with CEOs of local start-ups, where he vowed to change Korean laws from
“positive” regulation to “negative.” Korea
is considered to have “positive” regulation, which means that the law
specifically lists things that companies can do, while prohibiting the rest.
This is considered a fundamental hurdle for start-ups, especially those that
try to expand the frontiers of business and do things that are new.
“Investment and job
opportunities from foreign companies is crucial not only to Korean companies
but to the Korean government also,” Lee said Thursday. “The relationship
between Korean and U.S. companies are quite special historically […] We will
make sure to find ways to make that happen smoothly, fortifying the Korea-U.S.
relations and alliance.”
He
added that if AMCHAM member companies provided him with a list of regulations
they think are hampering investment in Korea, he will review them and consider
changes. “The technical alliance between
Korea and the U.S. is crucial, and we will endeavor to strengthen those ties,”
Lee said.
James
Kim, chairman and CEO of AMCHAM, emphasized that the upcoming presidential
election will be critical for shaping ties between Korean and U.S. companies. The
number of AMCHAM’s board members who have been appointed head of their
companies’ operations in Asia is the largest in AMCHAM’s history, meaning that
Korea is becoming a key player in the Asian market, according to Kim. “We appreciate Mr. Lee
Jae-myung’s important role in setting Korean policies that are helpful for
foreign direct investment and help make Korea a regional headquarters for
Asia,” said Kim.
“There is lot of competition
with other countries to attract foreign investment from strategic sectors like
semiconductors. We need the Korean government’s proactive support to win these
R&D investments into Korea. Now is a perfect time to put our best effort
forward.”
Source: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2021/12/02/business/industry/Lee-Jaemyung-Amcham-US/20211202183747887.html
2021.12.03