“I hope this year will be the inaugural year for reigniting Korea’s growth engine with the ‘New K-Industry.'”
Ryu Jin, chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, stated this at the 65th regular meeting of the federation held at FKI Tower in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 27th. He pledged to take the lead in creating a specific roadmap and improving systems and environments for ‘a new path of growth’ that seizes the opportunity of the AI revolution and promotes ‘collective growth.’
During the meeting, the federation outlined four main focus areas: the onset of the New K-Industry era, enhancing global status, building a path for collective growth, and strengthening member services. To achieve this, the federation plans to concentrate on securing sovereignty over the AI ecosystem, offering roadmaps for emerging industries such as mobility and bio, advancing the service industry, and expanding regulatory innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. To promote regional economic vitality and address the workforce shortage in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), they also plan to introduce employment linkage models connecting the baby boomer generation, small and medium-sized cities, and SMEs.
Chairman Ryu emphasized, “This year, in particular, we will focus on nurturing future generations and lay a foundation for the national competitiveness that will last a century,” and added that they will extend their warmth to ‘out-of-school youths’ and ‘disengaged young adults’ who are in vulnerable positions.
An agenda item of interest to the industry, concerning the return of the chairmen of Korea’s four major groups—Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG—to the federation’s leadership, was not tabled at the meeting. The federation has been negotiating behind the scenes with these groups to join the leadership, but they remain cautious on the matter.