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South Korea's 30 largest businesses vowed Friday to increase their combined
investment this year to a record high to help create more than 120,000 jobs and
keep the country's economy growing, the government said.
The pledge
came at the year's first meeting between Commerce Minister Hong Suk-woo and
chief financial officers from the country's largest business groups, according
to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.
The businesses include Samsung
Electronics Co., the world's second-largest semiconductor manufacturer, and
Hyundai Motor Group.
The companies pledged a total of 151.4 trillion
won (US$130.7 billion) in combined investment and to hire 123,000 new workers,
the ministry said.
"The top 30 business groups pledged to take
aggressive investment measures despite worsening conditions to help turn this
crisis into an opportunity," it said in a press release.
"Such
measures include plans to expand their investment by 12.3 percent and employment
by 2.2 percent from last year, despite the European debt crisis and concerns of
an economic slowdown in the United States."
The businesses also vowed
to increase investment in new areas, such as the green energy sector, that are
expected to become the country's new engines of growth, according to the
ministry.
To this end, they requested government help to create an
environment that will encourage and attract more investment by businesses in the
new fields. Such efforts include construction of more infrastructure, such as
recharge centers for electric vehicles, and tax breaks for R&D
investment.
Minister Hong said the government will do its utmost to
remove any red tape that may hinder investment by private companies.