Kim Byong-joon named new head of FKI

Kim Byong-joon, new acting chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, speaks during a press conference Thursday held in Yeouido, western Seoul. [NEWS1]

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) named Kim Byong-joon, current chairman of Community Chest of Korea, as the new acting chairman of the country’s largest business lobbying group.

The appointment was made Thursday during a board meeting after Huh Chang-soo tendered his resignation last month. Huh, who had been serving as chairman since 2011, ended his term Thursday.

Kim will lead the FKI for six months.

“My first work at the FKI will be the reestablishment of philosophical basis and direction of free market economy and liberal democracy,” Kim said during a press conference Thursday.

“It starts from breaking the chain of collusive ties between politicians and business people.”

It’s the first time FKI named a non-businessman as a chairman in its 62-year history.

Kim started his career as administration professor at Kookmin University in 1986 and went on to serve as the former chief secretary to the president for national policy of the of the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

In 2018, he served as the interim leader of the Liberty Korea Party — the predecessor of the current People Power Party — and led the election campaign committee for then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol.

“The FKI has the goal of making Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) a global think tank,” Kim added. KERI is an economic research institute under run by the FKI.

Kim’s ambitious goal includes making a Korean version of “Lunch with Warren Buffet,” which allows young entrepreneurs to have meetings with successful business people.

The first of such banquets is scheduled for April.

Kim will also establish a committee with heads of major Korean companies to discuss various global issues.

When asked about a potential merger with the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF), Kim said, “it is not the right timing,” and “the two have their own roles and goals.”

The FKI was formerly the Korea Businessmen’s Association, with the late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul leading the foundation in 1961 modeling it after the Japan Business Federation.

It became a leading economic organization in the business community as major corporations, financial institutions and state enterprises joined as members since changing its name to FKI in 1968.

But its prestige began to falter in 2016 when it was caught up in the Park Geun-hye administration’s corruption scandal in 2016. Four major conglomerates — Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG — withdrew their memberships in 2017.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]