S. Korea's biz community pledges cooperation to achieve 'shared' growth

South Korea's business leaders said Monday that they will "actively" cooperate with the government in its pursuit of "shared" growth by expanding investment and employment. The pledge comes after President Lee Myung-bak underlined the importance of shared growth between large and small companies during his Liberation Day speech. He also urged lawmakers to swiftly ratify the free trade agreement that the nation signed years ago with the United States. "The business community will do its part in expanding investment and creating jobs in particular for co-development, while taking the lead to achieve shared growth between large and small companies," the Federation of Korean Industries, the nation's largest business lobby group, said in a statement. "We also welcome the call for the swift ratification of the FTA with the United States." The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry also supported President Lee's view on the economy, saying that it is the right policy direction to pursue more free trade deals, seek shared growth and push to maintain fiscal soundness. While promising to do its best in expanding investment and creating jobs, the business lobby group urged the government to make more efforts to create a better economic environment. "We expect the government to work much harder in creating a business friendly environment and boosting economic vitality by reducing regulation, improving taxation competitiveness and stabilizing the labor markets," it added. The Korea Employers Federation also promised to increase investment and generate jobs, saying that job creation is the best welfare and the most critical factor to achieve shared growth, needed for the "happiness of all the people."