[Economic Plaza] A National Assembly Ruining the Economy, Mired in Anti-Market Politics

Businesses have lost vitality, and the economy continues along a path of low growth. Measures needed to revive the economy have been ignored, while pork-barrel politics has expanded. We have become a society that cannot even sense a crisis when one is upon us. At the center of this problem is the National Assembly. The 21st National Assembly has failed to show the kind of politics that leads our society forward. Rather, it has practiced politics that drag down the level of the economy.

People criticize the National Assembly for doing nothing but engage in political infighting. They say it has no interest in the economy. But what would happen if the National Assembly stopped fighting politically and focused on economic issues? I am actually concerned about the harm that would result if the Assembly concentrated on economic matters. That is because in a situation where political logic takes precedence over economic logic, the more legislative activity in the National Assembly increases, the greater the damage from the mass production of anti-market bad laws. Looking at what the 21st National Assembly has done over the past two years, if it had simply stayed out of economic issues and only fought political battles, the decline in our economy’s competitiveness would have been less severe.

It has been a long time since the National Assembly turned away from legislation aimed at reviving the economy. It has mass-produced harmful laws that deviate from economic logic, reduce jobs, and squeeze businesses, weakening the economy’s fundamentals. Pro-union laws such as the 52-hour workweek system and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act are prime examples. The more the National Assembly creates economic regulations with an anti-market stance, the more business activity on the ground shrinks, and the more severe the suffering becomes for people seeking jobs.

Politicians frequently reveal their hostility toward businesspeople. Usually, ideological politicians who are hostile to large corporations raise the issue and take the lead. Then followers join in. Before long, it becomes common for politicians seeking power and popularity to scold and punish companies and business leaders. Kakao founder Beomsu Kim was summoned to the National Assembly and had to repeatedly say, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” To avoid such political attacks, businesses end up providing substantial sums in political donations.

It is regrettable that politicians are leading the way in draining society of its vitality. It is especially lamentable because they have forgotten their mission as public officials who should devote themselves to the country. There is a reason politicians do not step forward to enrich the lives of the people. Beneath it lies the selfish desire to gain and maintain political power.

Why do members of the National Assembly accept anti-market arguments divorced from economic logic and create harmful laws that make people’s lives harder? It may be because lawmakers who support such bad laws are driven by misguided ideology, but the populist political structure is also a reason.

The reason politicians become absorbed in anti-market politics and stifle the economy is that anti-capitalist and anti-business sentiment is widespread in our society. Even where socialist ideology is not especially strong, the tendency of politicians, mindful of elections and public opinion, to easily discard principles and ride the wave of populism is a phenomenon seen in underdeveloped democratic societies.

Under the Moon Jae-in administration, the National Assembly went on a reckless run that sacrificed the economy. The government itself had an anti-market orientation, but the National Assembly also took the lead in pouring out laws that regulated businesses and reduced jobs. What kind of role will the National Assembly play under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration? Looking back on the past three months, the chances of meaningful change do not appear high. Much will depend on how much the government’s policy direction changes, but the National Assembly is still preparing anti-market bills. Examples include the Yellow Envelope Act (Revised Labor Commission Act), often called the “union shield law,” and the Online Platform Fairness Act, often referred to as the “On-Platform Act.”

For the economy to improve, the National Assembly must change. Its legislative activity must move away from anti-market approaches and toward pro-market ones. The more socialist policies are strengthened, the more the contradictions of a capitalist society deepen. By contrast, if laws are changed in a pro-market direction, capitalism can move society toward something better.

For the National Assembly to contribute to improving people’s lives through legislative activity grounded in economic logic, public consciousness and public opinion must move beyond anti-capitalist sentiment. In a society grounded in an understanding of commerce and business, politicians can pursue pro-market politics. I hope our society will move toward an era of prosperity, freed from the anti-market political logic that has suppressed economic logic.

Sung-no Choi, President, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: [경제광장] 경제 망치는 국회, 반시장적 정치에 매몰

Author: Sung-no Choi

Date: 2022-09-13

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&idx=24958