Labor Minister Says Proposal to Share Excess Profits at Big Companies Draws on Lee Kun-hee's Teachings

South Korea's labor minister on May 29 defended his proposal to share excess profits at large companies, saying it is not about "cutting open the goose" but a shared-growth approach aimed at easing polarization and strengthening corporate competitiveness.

Kim Young-hoon, minister of Employment and Labor, made the remarks on OhmyTV's YouTube program "Park Jung-ho's Hotspot." He pushed back on criticism that discussing excess-profit sharing amounts to communism, asking how social dialogue could be framed that way.

Kim cited Samsung Electronics Co.'s operating profit incentive, or OPI, program. The question, he said, is whether that kind of performance-sharing should be limited to regular employees and primary contractors.

He also invoked the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, saying Lee had described partner companies as "another family" and that suppliers also needed to thrive together. Kim said the idea did not originate with him but reflected the former chairman's teachings.

He added that if workers at supplier companies take greater pride in their jobs, delivery quality would improve and the finished products of the main contractor would also improve.

Kim also rejected criticism from the People Power Party, which had described the proposal as "cutting open the goose." Instead, he said, the proposal is about creating a bigger goose and another goose, adding that he did not understand why calling for social dialogue would be seen as inconsistent with the spirit of the constitution.

At a tea meeting with reporters on May 27, Kim said social dialogue was needed on the social distribution of excess profits at large companies. The labor ministry plans to soon finalize and announce the schedule for an emergency forum on the issue.

Han Kyung-woo, Hankyung.com reporter, case@hankyung.com