Yoon says vested cartels plunder the people

Jul 05, 2023, 08:25 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a government meeting on economic policy directions for the second half of the year at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on July 4, 2023./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lee Wook-jae

President Yoon Suk-yeol stressed Tuesday that vested cartels that unduly benefit from monopolistic structure and the sharing of government subsidies should be thoroughly reviewed in the budget allocation process and removed completely.

Yoon made the remark while chairing a meeting on the direction of the government’s economic policies for the second half of the year. “Cartels with benefits may look nice externally, but they are easily, conveniently and continuously plundering the people.”

The president repeatedly called for breakdown of “cartels with benefits” after asking new vice ministers the previous day to ‘ruthlessly’ fight cartels with vested interests.

“Structures that share the benefits by building cartels, instead of gaining benefits and rights through a fair and just compensation system, must be thoroughly destroyed,” Yoon said. “All public officials must not be afraid to confront them or turn a blind eye to them.”

“We should make more efforts to spread the fruits of growth throughout the people’s lives and fill the warmth,” he added.

While stressing to destroy cartels, Yoon did not mention specific industries. However, the presidential office specified that the financial and communications industries benefit from monopolistic and oligopolistic structures and the distribution of government subsidies for research and development projects.

In his closing remarks, Yoon said, “We will never bow to the blackmail of people who take the people and the people’s economy hostage and stage political strikes and illegal protests, and will respond firmly.”

The remarks seem to be aimed at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which launched a two-week general strike Monday to protest the Yoon Suk-yeol government’s labor policies.

Yoon warned that if by any chance they expect to gain something through illegal protests or strikes, they would be better off completely giving up those expectations under the Yoon Suk-yeol government.

He also called for boldly removing “killer regulations” that deter the investment decisions of businesses, saying that only then will the private sector invest more and establish the basis for future growth.

#vested cartel #killer regulations