[사설] Profit-sharing system ‘5 major anxieties’ This is reality

As social inequality intensifies due to the Corona 19 pandemic, the controversy is heating up as the political circles pop out the benefit-sharing system. After Lee Nak-yeon, CEO of the Democratic Party, raised the topic, the ruling party plans to come up with a concrete plan through the Task Force (TF). However, opinions are divided within the government and the ruling party to the extent that Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun drew a line saying, “I do not even use the term profit-sharing system.” It is because there are not one or two problems ranging from the argument for the legitimacy of `whether this idea fits the principle of the market economy` to the methodology of `what profits will be paid to whom.

In the midst of this, the National Federation of Entrepreneurs expressed concern on the 17th by summarizing five issues of the profit-sharing system. These include uncertainty in calculating profits, △ infringement of shareholders’ property rights, △ possibility of judicial punishment by management, △ concerns about equity with foreign companies △ weakening incentives for growth. In a word, it deserves to be called’the 5 most inexplicable profit-sharing systems’.

Conglomerates related to semiconductors and home appliances, and companies related to platform and face-to-face, such as Kakao and the People of Delivery, are often cited as representative beneficiaries of Corona 19 in politics. However, these profits are also the fruit of these companies’ bold R&D and investment, and the question of how to separately calculate the benefits obtained from Corona 19 is raised. In addition, if some of the profits to be distributed to shareholders are shared with small business owners, there is also a problem of infringement of shareholders’ property rights. In recent years, minority shareholder rights have been greatly strengthened due to the multi-representative lawsuit system. No matter how good intentions are, arbitrarily sharing corporate interests may lead to executives taking civil and criminal liability. If only domestic companies share profits, there is also a problem of equity with foreign companies. In addition, there is a great risk that if the profits are forcibly redeemed, the motive for pursuing profits will be weakened and economic vitality will be undermined. All of the `Five Invulnerabilities` are problems that are realistically encountered in the management front.

Putting these limiting factors aside and conscious of votes and lighting the profit-sharing system, conflicts between classes and industries will only increase. Rather than causing controversy in the politics, we must first listen to the voices of the company.
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