Shock, worry for economy over Roh

Korea’s leading business lobbying groups have expressed shock and regret about former President Roh Moo-hyun’s death, alongside hope it will not destabilize the nation’s economy, which is delicate in the aftermath of a global financial crisis.

“The business world was astonished and shocked about this national tragedy,” the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on Saturday.

After expressing its condolences in the statement, the business lobby added, “It’s time for Koreans to put their brains together, so that the incident does not bring about political and social unrest and especially does not have a negative impact on efforts to recover from the current economic crisis.”

The Federation of Korean Industries, the largest business interest group in Korea, expressed similar feelings of regret in its statement on Saturday. Though the FKI did not directly address the possible impacts of Roh’s death on the economy, it said, “While trying to overcome the sad news, we, the business world, will focus on fulfilling our duty of saving the economy in the current difficult situation.”

Choi Jae-hwang, a spokesman for the Korea Employers Federation, said, “We hope that such a tragedy will never be repeated, and we hope that the incident will not have a negative effect on overcoming the current economic difficulties.”

The remarks by the major business lobbying groups suggest local companies are concerned about a possible political backlash from Roh’s death and a negative impact on the economy, which optimistic analysts have recently said is on the verge of recovery.

The opposition Democratic Party and the Nosamo group of Roh supporters strongly criticized the current Lee Myung-bak administration and prosecutors for conducting “excessive investigations” into the Roh family for alleged bribery, arguing that they caused Roh’s death.

Accordingly, there is concern that the complaints could develop into a wider conflict among politicians and the public and might bring about a large-scale rally against the Lee administration like the candlelight demonstrations held a year ago to protest the resumption of U.S. beef imports.

The Korea Economic Research Institute, a think tank under the FKI, estimates that the direct costs of the candlelight rallies at 1.06 trillion won ($850 million), and said indirect costs, including loss of potential investment, were even higher. Direct costs included losses at shops and restaurants near the demonstrations and production losses due to walkouts by unions linked to the movement.

By Moon So-young [symoon@joongang.co.kr]