On the 21st, Hong Joon-pyo, a candidate for the People Power Party's presidential primary, emphasized, "To solve the strong union issue and amend the Labor Standards Act to guarantee corporations the freedom to dismiss, we must address the irregular workers issue and attract manufacturing investment."
On that day, Hong met with Chairman James Kim at the American Chamber of Commerce in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, and responded to the call that "regulatory reform must be addressed urgently" following the findings from U.S. corporations.
Chairman Kim cited the recently published 2025 Domestic Business Environment Insight Report, stating, "While Korea is a preferred country in Asia, 57% responded that Korean policies had a negative impact on business," and noted, "This presidential election will be a turning point determining not only the direction of Korea-U.S. relations but also global standing."
Hong stated, "Foreign entities cannot invest in manufacturing in countries with strong unions," adding, "Changing the Labor Standards Act to recognize the freedom to dismiss is necessary for corporations to hire regular employees, and it would also prevent discrimination against irregular workers."
He further stated, "We will completely change to a negative regulatory approach that allows all actions except those explicitly prohibited in law or policy."
He expressed confidence regarding persuading the Democratic Party, saying, "80% of what the president does is politics," and noted, "Former President Yoon Suk-yeol made a mistake by not engaging with Yeouido; one cannot do politics without dialogue. Many people in the Democratic Party's senior ranks are open to discussion."
He made it clear that he supports a nuclear alliance, saying, "We need to consider the North Korean nuclear issue in relation to our relationship with China and advance from an economic alliance to a nuclear alliance," and added, "Once the government is formed, we should first hold a Korea-U.S. summit to discuss a package deal. I ask that Chairman Kim mediate well."
He added, "I fully understand President Donald Trump's stance on resolving the U.S. trade deficit; however, I hope that the special nature of the Korea-U.S. alliance will prevent trade disputes from escalating into issues."
At the Chamber of Commerce that day, Jeffrey Jones, chairman of the Future Partners Foundation, Oh Dong-wook, representative of Korea Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Choi Jun, representative of Bloom Energy Korea, Sung Min-seok, senior advisor at AlixPartners, Kim Eun-ha, director of external cooperation at the Chamber of Commerce, and Lee Jae-mi, head of external cooperation, attended. From Hong's side, People Power Party member Kim Dae-sik, Policy Headquarters chief Lee Byeong-tae, Policy Office director Lee Jong-heon, and Spokesperson Lee Seong-bae were present.