La Chambre
FKCCI's Chairman D.P Jalicon attended President Moon Jae In's Dialogue with Foreign-Invested Companies
On March 28th, FKCCI's Chairman David Pierre Jalicon was invited to the Blue House and attended “President Moon Jae In’s Dialogue with Foreign-Invested Companies”.
The meeting at Cheong Wa Dae was attended by officials and representatives from 56 foreign firms and nine business organizations. This is the first time in Moon Jae-In's mandate that the Korean President invites representatives of foreign investors. The Ombudsman of foreign investment Kim Sung Jin highlighted it would become a regular annual dialogue. The foreign CCIs in Korea warmly welcome this high-level communication channel that gives them an opportunity to hear about government's policies, raise their concerns and suggest ideas to improve business confidence and ease of doing business. Major topics included deregulation and sandboxes, immigration quota issues and predictability of the business environment.
President Moon presented its vision about Korea's growth ambitions, fueled by innovation but also social inclusion. To re-ignite the growth engine, there’s also a need to revisit rules, process, and regulations, which can be heavy in South Korea. On this matter, President Moon insisted on the concept of "flexisecurity" originated from Denmark which combines labour market flexibility in a dynamic economy and security for workers. He also presented solutions for simplifying the regulatory framework and improving the predictability of regulations .
On a conclusive note, President Moon promised increased support for foreign invested firms. He said, “The South Korean economy has developed together with foreign invested firms and will continue to do so in the future. Our success will be a great support for South Korea’s economic development and the South Korean economy’s development will open more business opportunities for you all.”
On this positive note, CCI's chairmen including Mr. Jalicon made clear that they would take a leading role in expanding foreign investments in Korea and improving the economic environment for the mutual benefit of Korean and European Companies. The context is favorable between France and Korea, following Moon Jae In's state visit on October 2018 in France and the prospect of a return visit of President Emmanuel Macron in Korea. Both countries' trade balance is increasing for the 4th consecutive year. French presence in Korea is significant and diversified with 200 companies representing 24 700 jobs for a total of 4.2 bn EUR of direct investment in the country.
