South Korea Presidential Office Calls for Broader Debate on Sharing Large Companies’ Excess Profits

South Korea’s presidential office said discussions on how to share excess profits at large companies should be opened to broader public debate, including through future forums.

Kang Yoo-jung, senior presidential spokesperson, made the remarks at a briefing on May 28 when asked about Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon’s proposal for an emergency forum on the issue, according to News1 and other local media.

Kim’s proposal reflected his position as labor minister on the need for performance-sharing, Kang said. She added that the minister was pointing to an issue South Korean society should discuss openly, as the labor dispute at Samsung Electronics has exposed broader social problems and tasks that still need to be addressed.

Kim told reporters on May 27 that social dialogue is the only solution to the distribution of excess profits at large companies and said the Ministry of Employment and Labor will hold an emergency forum on June 1.

Samsung Electronics’ success was built not only on the dedication of labor and management, but also on broader social support, Kim said. The emergency forum is meant to open the door to that dialogue.