Petition drive highlights economic woes, opposing views on growth

By Oh Seok-min SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- Grim-faced leaders of Samsung's major affiliates came under media spotlight en masse when they gathered on the first floor of the conglomerate's headquarters building in Seoul on a freezing winter morning for a rare collective action. "We are here to join the signature-collecting campaign to call on the National Assembly to pass bills for revitalizing the economy," said Yoon Yong-am, president of Samsung Securities Co., accompanied by a dozen other CEOs including Samsung Electronics President Kim Young-ki. The Samsung Group, the country's top conglomerate, became the first private business entity to join the campaign launched by economic groups, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), on Jan. 14 to collect signatures from 10 million people, some 20 percent of the country's total population, to pressure the parliament to expedite legislation to help revive the ailing economy. A set of bills aimed at reforming the country's rigid labor market and extending support for corporate investment, among others, has been in limbo, with no progress being made amid a political standoff between the rival parties. "The failure of the bills' passage would cause South Korea to fall behind at this time of the global economic downturn," Yoon said, expressing hope for more people, especially leaders in business circles, to join the campaign. And they did. Ten days after the launch of the campaign, more than 500,000 businessmen and citizens took part, and as of Wednesday, the figure surpassed 840,000, which includes 144 business associations and major conglomerates including Hyundai Motor Co., the SK Group, and the LG Group. The big business-led petition campaign has been spreading to smaller ones as well, with more related organizations setting up booths to collect signatures from small merchants and the general public. "I've run this shop for the past 25 years, but I've never experienced this serious of a slump before," said Shin Ok-ja, the 63-year-old owner of a dried fish shop in the Jeil traditional market in northern Seoul, after taking part in the campaign. "Now may be time for me to shut down my store, as I often fail to earn enough money for bus fare or to buy lunch for me and my husband," she sighed. "I don't know what the lawmakers are up to while getting paid so much. Will the privileged people ever understand our desperation?" Such sentiments and the fact that the campaign has drawn public interest reflects the widespread sense of urgency over the faltering Korean economy. In January, the country's exports tumbled a whopping 18.5 percent to extend its losing streak to 13 straight months due to faltering global demand. The figure marked the largest on-year fall since August 2009. The Bank of Korea estimates that the economy grew just 2.6 percent on-year in 2015, a downgrade from a 3.3 percent forecast made in July. For 2016, many private economists are predicting that growth will hover in the upper 2 percent range instead of the "optimistic" 3.1 percent growth being forecast by the government. The petition campaign, however, has been embroiled in heated debate after President Park Geun-hye herself took part in it "as a citizen of this country." "It is reminiscent of state-led demonstrations during the Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee administrations," said Rep. Moon Jae-in, a leading member of the main opposition Minjoo Party, referring to the authoritarian leaders' mobilization of supporters to suppress opposition movements and to secure sweeping powers. Pointing to the prevailing view among progressives and the opposition that Park has never really tried to resolve any conflicts with the parliament through open dialogue, he said such "populistic politik" would make things worse and hamper the already tense relations between the legislative and administrative branches. The government has been at loggerheads with the opposition side and labor unions over the economic bills, particularly the ones regarding labor reforms. While the government contends the easing of labor regulations will boost the sluggish economy and add jobs for young workers, the labor unions and opposition parties view them as expanding temporary jobs and making it easier for employers to dismiss workers. Such developments, they argued, would make things harder for the underprivileged. Despite Park's repeated calls, National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa has also rejected a request that he invoke his authority to take the bills to the floor and put them to a vote. Meanwhile, claiming that the ongoing campaign is far from voluntary, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the country's major umbrella labor group, even launched a separate petition campaign on Wednesday to win public support for its effort to "save laborers and ordinary citizens." The KCTU maintains that many companies are effectively forcing reluctant employees to sign the petitions and even raised suspicions that the government is using its influence over various neighborhood autonomy committees to get people to support the petition drive. "We will stand up against easy dismissal, and will have the parliament to levy more taxes on large firms while setting the minimum hourly wage to over 10,000 won," the KCTU said in a release. It said the goal is to get more than 8 million signatures so it too can push lawmakers to make changes that can protect the rights of ordinary people and laborers. graceoh@yna.co.kr (END)