Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), delivers a New Year’s address during the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s New Year gathering at KCCI’s international conference hall in Seoul Jan. 7. Yonhap
Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Chey Tae-won reprimanded executives and other employees of the business lobby group over its recent press release on the inheritance tax, which President Lee Jae Myung labeled as unreliable and rebuked publicly.
In a written message to KCCI employees, Chey expressed “deep regret” over the incident and said the chamber would “suspend all events hosted by KCCI for the time being and place all executives under a reappointment review.”
Following Chey's reprimand, all 10 KCCI executives are expected to tender their resignations soon, sources said.
KCCI caused a controversy with its Feb. 3 press release calling for reforms in the country’s inheritance tax system. In the release, the lobby cited British investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners. President Lee condemned news reports citing the press release as “fake news” intended to “attack government policy.”
KCCI soon publicly apologized and vowed to overhaul the chamber’s research team, but senior government officials joined Lee in lashing out at the lobby group, with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources launching an audit of the chamber.
In his message, Chey noted that both internal and external reviews found problems with the cited data.
“It is regrettable that fundamental doubts have been raised about our credibility as an institution that should analyze economic trends and propose policy solutions,” he wrote.
Chey said "measures such as tougher fact-checking would not be enough for an overhaul," calling on employees to “look back on themselves” and make efforts to rebuild public trust.
However, he reaffirmed that KCCI will participate responsibility in and actively support national-level events and projects.
Source: Korea Times News
