South Korean President Moon Jae-in is calling on the corporate winners of the pandemic to share some of their profits with smaller businesses that have borne the brunt of the economic pain, as he looks to address the uneven nature of the recovery.
The idea has gained traction within the ruling party in recent weeks as the K-shaped nature of the recovery has become clearer, with unprecedented public spending still failing to offset losses by mom-and-pop stores hit by social distancing restrictions.
While public support for Moon’s government partly depends on its continued efforts to tackle simmering resentment over inequality in South Korea’s economy, critics of the profit-sharing drive say it’s tantamount to corporate bullying. Business lobbies, economists and market analysts say it would distort key incentives in the corporate world and reduce South Korean firms’ attractiveness for investors.