The secretary-general of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea stressed that the newly formed chamber was a completely different organization from the controversy-plagued European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea.

Wolfgang Slawinski especially emphasized that the new organization would be tightly audited so that irregularities at the EUCCK would not be repeated.

“This new chamber will guarantee transparency by introducing an external advisory board as well as being subject to outside audit,” he told The Korea Herald last week.

The audit company has not been decided yet but there is an international one that appeals to the organization, he said. The outside audit will examine invoices and other financial matters of the organization at least once a month.

“The most important thing is to have the confidence of the members and of the Korean government,” he said. 

The ECCK opened on Thursday after the Ministry of Knowledge Economy gave the final approval for its establishment on Nov. 19. The new president of the chamber is German attorney Joachim Nowak. Secretary-General Slawinski served as CEO of Frequentis ATM Communication Inc., an Austrian IT firm, and a vice president of the EUCCK.

The EUCCK shut down in September after being slapped with fines and overdue taxes worth 4.5 billion won ($4.1 million). The National Tax Service informed the EUCCK in July that it owed 2.6 billion won in overdue value-added taxes and 1.9 billion won in fines for not issuing tax invoices for in-house magazine ad sales.

The basic purpose of the ECCK is the same as the EUCCK: to foster trade and cooperation between Europe and Korea. It aims to provide information and advice to EU member companies doing business in Korea, and host committee services and conferences on various issues to discuss common concerns between European businesses in Korea and their Korean counterparts.

The key difference between the old and the new organizations is their legal foundation. Established in accordance with Article 52 of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Act (revised in 2008), the ECCK secured legal status as a nonprofit entity and accounting guidelines.

The legal status of the EUCCK, in contrast, had been ambiguous as Article 39 of the Immigration Control Law, with which the organization was established in accordance, was deleted in 1999. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Act at the time did not specify related transitional procedures, leaving the EUCCK to be “an organization perceived as a corporation.”

But the ambiguous status was not the only reason for the unclear accounting and management of the EUCCK. 

Slawinski admitted that some European companies may no longer wish to join the organization, given the recent history.

“Many of the members never have ever imagined that this would happen,” he said.

“But many have been waiting for the opening of the ECCK, waiting to do business. Everything they can do here is related to the ECCK.”

The organization may start smaller, but will provide the same support for companies, he said.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldcorp.com)