Creation of Jobs,
Closing Wealth Gap

President Lee calls on FKI to work to solve two key tasks to get the country moving again at 50th anniversary of biz organization

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) celebrated its 50th anniversary at Shilla Hotel on Oct. 5 with President Lee Myung-bak attending along with hundreds of heads of member companies led by Chairman Huh Chang-soo.
President Lee, in his congratulatory speech at the ceremony, which lasted for about 20 minutes because he often went off the text of his speech, said the FKI played a key role in overcoming various difficulties that blocked the economic progress of the country in the past, but it is now in a situation where it is being looked upon as a business organization that only looks after the interests of big businesses.
The president pointed out as the most pressing problems the FKI should take pains to solve as the closing of the gap between rich and poor and the creation of jobs. Large businesses should not cut jobs, he said, but should instead hire more high school graduates and create jobs for people without jobs.
He also told the CEOs present at the ceremony that those high school graduates, once hired, should be trained enough so that their salaries four years later would be more than what college grads are paid when they are hired first.
Lee also called on the FKI to put more efforts toward achieving co-prosperity with SMEs to the extent that the culture of mutual survival with big businesses and SMEs will be created, a goal that has yet to be realized, although every past government has called for it.
Big businesses should help SMEs who are their vendors so that they can grow together, although the government cannot force them to do so by legislating laws to that extent, the Chief Executive said.
Lee said he hoped that big businesses would look at the issue as the flow of the age and make efforts to create the culture of mutual survival with SMEs in the near future.
He called on the FKI to take the lead in this connection in a voluntary manner rather than the government stepping in and telling them to do this or that.
Chairman Huh, in his speech, said Korea has grown to be among the 10 top countries in terms of economic scale in the world in 50 years, although it was one of the poorest countries in the world half a century ago, and the FKI has been in the center of the so-called Miracle on the Han River, working with the people and the government.
During the ceremony, video messages of congratulations from important business figures overseas including Chairman Thomas Donohue of the American Chamber of Commerce, Chairman Yonekura Hiromasa of Keidanren in Japan and Chairman Wang Zhongwe of the China Business Federation, among others, were played.
The FKI also unveiled its 2030 Vision to help Korea continue to rank among the top 10 countries with the strongest economies with $100,000 per capita income with 5 trillion won in GDP.
The FKI's Vision pointed out the need for a paradigm change for the growth of the national economy in order to realize the Vision. It said Korea should be a fast mover, changing from a fast follower, to develop new growth engines and technologies as a creative leader in order to lead the nation's economic growth in the 21st century.
Korea needs to develop a knowledge-based economic structure by nurturing high-tech, high value-added manufacturing and creative service industries to secure a global competitive edge through mutual survival strategies with SMEs.
In order to bring this about, the FKI will first try to expand economic infrastructure, strengthen industrial technological capacity, and accumulate social capital to build a base for further economic growth. With these as a base, businesses will be able to secure a global competitive edge so that they will make Korea a leading country for new growth industries, while Korea will also be a country where people share the fruits of economic growth equally in a happy society. nw

President Lee Myung-bak delivers a congratulatory speech at a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) at Hotel Shilla on Oct. 5.

Photos oncourtesy of MCST