KEF leader to promote true market economy

Park Byung-won, former head of the Korea Federation of Banks, was inaugurated Wednesday as the sixth chairman of the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), a top business lobby group.

A long-time government official and financial group manager, the new chairman vowed in his inaugural address after the federation approved his appointment during a meeting at a hotel in central Seoul, that he would reform the nation’s labor market structure and improve labor-management relations.

“I will play an active role to create corporations that are competitive and loved by people by spreading the right perception of the principles of market economy and enterprises and by forming a labor-management culture of transparent management and mutual growth,” he said.

Park also stressed the importance of job creation.

“Not only the government but also the KEF and labor groups have to lay out all of their thoughts on job creation,” he said.

“The two sides will be able to resolve many conflicting issues if they consider the jobless and young people who have yet to be employed, when it comes to tackling labor-management problems.”

Ever since his predecessor Lee Hee-bum resigned in February last year, the top spot at the 45-year-old lobby has remained vacant as the group searched for the right replacement.

Park, a graduate of law school at Seoul National University, began his career as a bureaucrat and later served as chairman of Woori Financial Group and senior presidential secretary for economic affairs.

BY SEO JI-EUN [spring@joongang.co.kr]