As Shinsegae Vice Chairman Jeong Yong-jin's remarks 'I hate the Communist Party' drew attention, attention is also focused on the background of breaking the unwritten rule of the chaebol family, which has been taboo on political remarks.
Since the military dictatorship in the past, due to the Korean climate, where the regime's 'handling of the chaebol' has been a common practice, an atmosphere of extreme reluctance to make political statements among the heads of domestic chaebols has been implicitly formed. I lost.
Inside and outside the business world, there is an observation that Vice Chairman Chung's bold statement of beliefs, who cannot be unaware of the atrocities of the chaebols who suffered great hardship after rebelling against the sentiments of politicians in the past, may have been due to his unique disposition and the special circumstances of the end of the regime. .
The controversy over the 'communist party' remarks by Vice Chairman Chung, which caused a lot of attention on social networking services (SNS), started on the 15th of this month.
He posted a photo on his Instagram account holding a red card wallet and a Jackson pizza box, and added the phrase "I don't like the Communist Party" along with the phrase "I feel like a communist party. Please don't get me wrong."
As some media outlets reported this and caused controversy, on the 17th of the same month, "The patriotic people with a strong anti-communist spirit are our way of life and are the basis for realizing the ideal of a free world...(omitted) I hate beans very much" I uploaded it.
Despite the criticism that there is antipathy in China and concerns about damage to shareholders and consumers, "It is deplorable that there are people who are uncomfortable even with this."He did not give up his convictions.
On the 24th, 'North Korea shot the residents who brought in squid games... The student who bought it posted a photo of a newspaper article titled 'Lifetime imprisonment' and again emphasized, "I hate the Communist Party."
In the industry, considering that the duty-free shop business accounts for a significant portion within the Shinsegae Group and the Chinese are the 'big hands' of the duty-free shops, there was an opinion that Vice Chairman Chung's remarks were not appropriate for business.
It is said that if Chinese consumers conduct a boycott of Vice Chairman Chung's remarks as a problem, it could negatively affect not only Shinsegae Group but also shareholders.
It may be a coincidence, but the stock price of E-Mart fell for four consecutive trading days from the 16th to the 19th of this month, right after Vice Chairman Chung posted an article about the Communist Party.
Jeong Yeon-seung, president of the Korea Distribution Association, and professor of business administration at Dankook University said yesterday (26th), "Everyone has the freedom to express personal inclinations and opinions, but in the case of Vice-President Jeong, he has risen to a position of greater responsibility than in the past, so there is no misunderstanding regardless of his will. I think it's better to be a little more careful with expressions that can provoke."
When an Instagram follower asked, "Hwang Gyo-ik said, "The rich don't eat chicken, and there is a class in food, please comment."
Garosero Research Institute (Ka Se-yeon) is a conservative YouTube channel, so it has been said that Vice Chairman Jeong revealed his political tendencies implicitly.
Except for Vice Chairman Chung, most chaebol heads do not operate SNS accounts for fear of social views or side effects.
Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, is rarely active on Instagram, but rarely posts politically inclined posts.
Chairman Choi recently drew attention with an expression that seemed to dismiss the allegations related to Hwacheon Daeyu. It was also a metaphorical expression, "No matter how flashy the nonsense, they disappear as quickly as fallen leaves."
Some in the business circles responded that it was not prudent for Vice Chairman Chung, the de facto head of a major conglomerate, to reveal certain political tendencies and cause misunderstandings in a situation where the progressive and conservative camps were in sharp confrontation ahead of the presidential election.
An official from the business community said, "It would have been difficult for Vice Chairman Chung to make such a statement if he was in the early days of the administration.
Seo Yong-gu, a professor of business administration at Sookmyung Women's University, said, "Chairman Chung's comments on social media have been a problem several times in the past. We need to be careful with our language choice,” he said.
The chaebol head's remarks are refreshing to hear, but in many cases they have irreversible consequences.
A typical example is the so-called 'Beijing remarks' by the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
During a luncheon meeting with correspondents from major media outlets in Beijing, China, which he visited in April 1995, Chairman Lee criticized the Kim Young-sam administration's economic policy confusion and bureaucratic behavior at the time, saying, "Korea's political power is fourth-class, and administrative power is third-class. , the company's ability is second-class," he said.
A few days later, then President Kim Young-sam expressed his discomfort at the Blue House meeting, saying, "I am not interested in Mr. Lee Kun-hee."
Chairman Lee had to suffer at the end of his tenure at YS, including being investigated and tried by the prosecution for the Roh Tae-woo slush fund case that broke out the following year.
Chairman Lee is said to have developed a tendency to avoid the media extremely after this story incident.
The late Daewoo Chairman Kim Woo-jung set up a confrontation with the Kim Dae-jung government.
Chairman Kim attended the Davos Forum in Switzerland in January 1998, during the time of President-elect Kim Dae-jung, and had a thorny war of words with economic adviser Yoo Jong-geun, who was considered to be Kim's closest aide at the time.
Chairman Kim raised an objection to Yu, saying, "The recent crisis stems from financial insolvency, and there is a problem in pushing only large companies such as chaebols."
This was a negative view of the chaebol reform and business exchange between companies (big deal), which the Kim Dae-jung administration was promoting as a core policy at the time.
Even after being appointed as the next president of the Federation of Korean Industries (former Federation of Korean Industries), Chairman Kim said, "The theory of the dissolution of chaebols is the logic that advanced countries put forward to encroach on the domestic market and eliminate Korean conglomerates, which are rivals."He criticized the Kim Dae-jung government's chaebol policies head-on.
As a result of the prosecution's investigation into Daewoo Group's 41 trillion won in accounting fraud and illegal loans, key executives including Chairman Kim were taken to justice and the group was disbanded.
Although the criminal act was the direct cause of Chairman Kim's judicial treatment and the dissolution of Daewoo Group, there were rumors that it was the background behind Chairman Kim's 'troubleshooting', who stood up to the government in every case from the beginning of his inauguration.
(Photo = Yonhap News)