Organizations representing local industries mostly welcomed Saenuri Party Park Geun-hye’s election to president, but made big demands the incoming government to help promote fair competition in the corporate sector.

“The leadership of the next president will play a critical role for our country to navigate the very tough times we face today in the form of an overall anemic economy defined by contracting exports, sluggish consumption and growing household debt,” the Federation of Korean Industries said on Thursday.

“We hope for the new president to come forward with policies that places the utmost priority on investment and job creation so that our companies can focus once again on keeping the economy going.”

The FKI pledged that in tandem with Park’s efforts, the companies also would endeavor to bolster the economy, while at the same time working for mutual growth with small and mid-sized businesses and manifesting more social responsibility to keep society unified.

Economic democratization, a concept that all former candidates including Park had adopted as a key policy pledge, centers on creating a level playing field for all competitors.

The moves were interpreted as an attempt to address the deepening polarization ― not just between different income groups but also in the corporate sector.

Park’s pledges differed with those of other candidates as she refrained from attacking conglomerates, mostly by deleting clauses for keeping chaebol owners in check. She did, however, promise to take back any profit made by conglomerates that were obtained through illegal methods.

Her remaining pledges include a ban on fresh cyclical investment and on investment in financial affiliates to prevent chaebol from reckless expansion. Park was against reviving the equity investment ceiling from the start, and that remains the case.

Regarding the Fair Trade Commission, whose activity has been widely criticized, Park said she would tighten the organization’s watch over illegal activity by conglomerates, while promising to eliminate the law stipulating that alleged culprits may be indicted only when the commission has referred them to the prosecution.

Beyond economic democratization, Park has said she would help create more jobs, not through additional stimulus but by generating more growth to create a spillover effect.

For the elderly, the president-elect has promised to extend the retirement age to 60 years, up from the current 55 years.

For the labor unions, she has promised to eventually upgrade the status of temporary workers to regular status. Starting in the public sector, in which Park has pledged the promotion of workers to regular worker status by 2015, she also said that as president, she would urge the private sector to follow suit.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday called for a sensible regulatory framework and tax revisions from the president elect to overall help create a better business environment.

The chamber, along with the Korea Employers Federation, also stressed the need for the government to help shape better labor relations, as companies have been complaining of extreme labor union action.

The Korea International Trade Association called on Park to successfully wrap up ongoing negotiations for free trade agreements with China and Japan, while engaging in economic diplomacy to broaden the country’s international reach.

But on the other side of the spectrum, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business raised their voice for the president-elect to stick to her plans to promote fair competition.

“Small and mid-sized businesses, along with self-proprietors, have lost their spirit due to conglomerates’ attempts to cheat their smaller counterparts, and because they are entering in all markets, including the neighborhoods,” the federation said in a statement. “We hope the president-elect will keep her promise to become a president for SMEs.”

The group further called for the president-elect to implement necessary remedy measures, such as selecting industries where conglomerates are banned from entry and giving SMEs more room to negotiate product prices.

Small and mid-sized companies have been crying foul against the large companies, mainly for exploiting vendors, and for competing with mom-and-pop shops and putting them out of business.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)