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| Kwon O-kyu, former minister of finance and economy, speaks about the economic outlook inside and outside the country during a seminar hosted by EY Han Young at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of EY Han Young |
By Jun Ji-hye
Companies here need to undergo major reform to survive as the nation's economy will face escalating risks and difficulties this year, according to a former minister of finance and economy, Wednesday.
During a seminar hosted by EY Han Young to discuss the economic outlook inside and outside the country, Kwon O-kyu, who was the finance minister under President Roh Moo-hyun, said uncertainty is growing as the United States, China, Japan and the European Union are becoming stuck with slow growth, while the U.S.-China trade conflict continues. He also said unstable factors are growing in emerging nations.
EY Han Young is one of the big four accounting firms here.
"To survive, Korean companies need to face reality, respond flexibly to changes and make investments for the future," Kwon said during a keynote address at the seminar held at the Lotte Hotel, central Seoul.
"In 2019, the whole world, except for India, ASEAN countries and some African countries, is expected to suffer a growth slowdown," he said, noting that low interest will not last forever.
Kwon said Korea has already been overtaken by China in not only the manufacturing business, but also Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as the internet of things, the cloud, big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain.
"This was because companies did not clarify their priority and direction, and chose the safe method of becoming second movers," he said.
Stressing that the Korean economy has reached an inflection point, he called for reform through "3Fs" ― focused, flexible and forward-looking.
He added all problems need to be exposed without any fear, and all sectors such as politics, business and labor need to surrender their vested rights to overcome economic crises.
