The South Korean government plans to make a range of business sectors exempt from competition or buyouts from the powerful family-run conglomerates known as the chaebol,
the
Financial Times
reported.
The
FT
article said a commission is reviewing a list of 230 business areas that could be reserved for small to medium-sized enterprises, including tofu, soap, light bulbs, satellite receivers, bottles, toys and vacuum cleaners. The designations will be announced in September, according to the report.
The report noted that small to medium-sized firms are not providing enough jobs for young people. Jeong Yeong-tae, secretary-general of Korea’s commission on shared growth, told the
FT:
“In recent decades, small companies in Korea have not been able to grow. They are extinguished by the chaebol that encroach on their business areas.”
The government’s plan is controversial, the article said. The chaebol say it undermines the free market; consumers say protectionism is keeping prices high; and European Union officials fear the plan could affect the EU’s trade deal with South Korea, according to the report.
(Source:
Financial Times,
July 18, 2011.)
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