After a general meeting Tuesday ended in conflict amongst the members of its chair council, the Federation of Korean Industries has for the first time in its history failed to pick its next chairman.
The FKI said that incumbent chair Kang Shin-ho, 80, will continue to head the group and it will nominate a new candidate in March to be approved at an extraordinary general meeting.
But the situation is knotty and it seems likely that the FKI will operate with no chairman for an extended period. Regardless of who will be its next leader, the FKI seems to be losing its luster and some are even questioning its very necessity.
This isn't the first time the FKI has had trouble finding a chairman. After SK Group head Son Kil-seung was removed from the FKI chair when he was sent to prison, Kang Shin-ho took over and has helmed the group ever since. But Kang was chosen simply because he was the most senior member of the FKI and there were no other candidates.
Because the chairman must be selected by unanimous vote, the FKI can't elect someone if any member of the chair council opposes that candidate. And because so many business leaders are entangled in complicated and sometimes rancorous relationships, it's hard for the council to reach a consensus.
The FKI's failure to unify its members threatens its very existence. The group is roiled with conflicts that mirror the grudges between Korea's most powerful businesses and their leaders. Hyundai Motor and LG Group are opposed to Samsung Group's formidable influence. LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo has boycotted FKI meetings for a couple of years because he believes that the FKI was instrumental in the government-mandated merger of LG Semicon with Hyundai Electronics Industries.
Korea's top conglomerates have different attitudes towards and within the FKI, and the infighting has turned it into a mere fraternity of chaebol leaders with little real influence. Its current impotence stands in stark contrast to the once-powerful FKI that was led by influential conglomerate owners such as Chung Ju-yung and Chey Jong-hyun.
FKI adviser Kim Joon-sung, the honorary chairman of Isu Group, presided over Tuesday's general meeting and struggled until the last moment to bring a consensus on the next chairman. He, too, had sour words for the organization. "A few years ago, the leaders of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations arrived in Korea, but I had to treat them to dinner myself because there was no leader in the FKI to assume the role," Kim said.
Many business leaders are complaining about the FKI's enfeebled condition. If the situation continues, many might ultimately decide the organization is totally useless.
