After a bill to remove the term-limit rule for the chair of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises was introduced in the National Assembly, the labor union pushed back, warning that eliminating the limit could risk privatizing the organization.
According to the National Assembly's bill information system on the 23rd, a revision to the Small and Medium Enterprise Cooperative Act that would remove the limit on the number of consecutive terms for cooperative chairs and the chair of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises was submitted to the National Assembly, led by Rep. Jeong Jin-uk of the Democratic Party of Korea.
The core of the amendment changes the rule that the chair of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises "may be reappointed only once" to "may be reappointed," eliminating the cap on the number of terms. For the term of a small and medium enterprise cooperative chair, the clause "may serve only two consecutive terms" was changed to "matters related to consecutive terms shall be stipulated in the articles of association." The reasoning is that, given democratic checks through the general assembly and bylaws, restricting the number of terms by law could unduly limit organizational autonomy.
If the term limit is removed, KBIZ Chair Kim Ki-mun could run again in the chair election. Kim served as the 23rd and 24th KBIZ chair from 2007 to 2015, and has held the 26th and 27th chairmanships from 2019 to the present. The current term runs through Feb. next year, and once it ends, he will set a record as the "longest-serving" chair with a cumulative 16 years in office. This is the result of the current rules, which limit reappointment to once but place no cap on nonconsecutive terms.
The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises union opposes scrapping the term limit. In a survey of members asking, "What do you think about the amendment to abolish the term limit for the KBIZ chair?" 97% of 173 respondents said they were "opposed."
Based on the survey results, the KBIZ union argued that removing the term limit is unjustified and instead submitted an opinion paper on the 16th to the National Assembly standing committee of jurisdiction, the Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee, calling for restrictions on consecutive terms.
In the opinion paper, the union said, "KBIZ is not a private interest group but a partner in carrying out government policies and an implementing body for various support projects and entrusted subsidy projects," adding, "Certain legal controls are not excessive intervention but a means to pursue overall social benefit and public responsibility."
Kim Ki-mun is said to have conveyed to the union that he does not intend to run again for chair after the current term ends.