Challenges for the new head of the FKI

We look forward to seeing the new chairman display his leadership to transform the FKI and the Korean economy into genuinely global ones.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) will be relaunched in a board meeting on August 22 to seat Poongsan Group Chairman Ryu Jin as its new head after changing its Korean name. The Korea Economic Research Institute under the FKI will continue to play its role under the renamed entity.

There has been a broad consensus that Chairman Ryu is the best person to lead the business organization to be born again. He served as vice chairman of the FKI for more than 20 years since 2001 and as the chairman of the Korea-U.S. Business Council on the Korean side. Ryu has also been a board member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). That shows his strong international backgrounds and solid global connections. Last year, he received the 2022 Van Fleet Award from the Korea Society for his contribution to enhancing the Korea-U.S. relations. Such experiences match well with the current atmosphere, where the alliance is being upgraded to a value-based one with the Biden administration.

And yet, Ryu faces serious challenges ahead. First of all, he must redraw the four major business groups in Korea — Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor and LG — into the FKI to restore the fallen prestige of the business association. The four corporations left the FKI between 2016 and 2017 over their involvement in corruptions during the Park Geun-hye administration.

To solve the dilemma, the FKI must become an appealing business organization. We hope it demonstrates its ability to help address our deepening social conflict and communicate with the general public with global perspectives and strategic mind instead of simply representing the interests of the corporate world.

To depart from the decades-long collusion with the powers that be — a legacy from the past — the FKI must set up an ethical management committee, as declared in its initiative for innovation, and operate it earnestly. The FKI has been criticized for taking the lead in collecting money from its members to help with government-led policies. If the FKI does its fair share in meeting its social responsibility through the ethics committee, it can stop the government from demanding over-the-top financial contribution from it.

We also hope the FKI becomes a powerful think tank championing the entrepreneurship and market economy beyond protecting the interests of Korea Inc. The time has come for influential and respected thinks tanks — like the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation — to appear in Korea. We look forward to seeing the new chairman display his leadership to transform the FKI and the Korean economy into genuinely global ones.