The Ownership Structure of Korea's Big Business Conglomerates and Its Policy Implications

우리나라 기업집단(企業集團)의 소유(所有)·경영구조(經營構造)와 정책대응(政策對應)

"Corporate control by owners" characterizes the current structure of ownership, control and management of big business groups in Korea. It has become an ever more serious obstacle for the Korean economy to end its distinctive "personal capitalism" and to transform the current system into people's capitalism. The current issue, the deconcentration of ownership, through the course of heated debates should be treated from an integrated perspective. That is, the debate should center on the concentration of economic power and it effects on national economy, instead of sticking to the issue of ownership-control issue per se. This paper, by referring to the historical experiences and development paths which advanced countries have already traveled, analyzes the respective aspects of the concentration issue in a rather descriptive and taxonomist manner - market concentration, business diversification, ownership concentration, integrated management of conglomerates, i.e., managing in groups' unit, and the roles of financial institutions. The government policies against the concentration of economic power have so far focused on the size of big business groups and their diversification activities. The two major policy measures are restrictions on cross-ownership and excess capital investment by big business groups, and controls on their credit deals. This paper strongly suggests that the government should change its current priorities in targeting its policies against concentration. The government should reduce the regulations on size and diversification, and focus its policies on substantial dispersion of corporate ownership. The efficacy of government intervention in the management and control of business enterprises seems quite dubious and even anachronistic given the extent of maturity of Korean firms. Therefore, it should be noted that the current regulation-oriented stance taken by the government against the management style of big business groups should be suppressed, as it has assumed some a priori and typical pattern in advance in directing big business groups, such as independent and specialized management in respective firms' unit. This paper, also, raises the need for introducing new regulations on inter-sectoral diversifications between finance, industry and the press.

"오너" 지배체제(支配體制)를 특징으로 하는 우리나라 대규모기업집단의 소유(所有) 경영구조(經營構造)는 개인자본주의(個人資本主義)를 마감하고 대중자본주의(大衆資本主義)를 발전시키는 데 제약요인(制約要因)이 되고 있다. 본고(本稿)에서는 소유(所有) 경영구조(經營構造)의 문제(問題)를 경제력집중문제(經濟力集中問題)의 일부로 파악하면서 선진자본주의경제(先進資本主義經濟)의 소유(所有) 경영구조(經營構造)를 참고기준으로 우리나라의 경제력집중문제(經濟力集中問題)를 생산집중(生産集中), 업종다변화(業種多邊化), 소유집중(所有集中), "그룹"식(式) 경영방식(經營方式), 금융기관(金融機關)의 역할(役割) 등을 중심으로 분석했으며, 이를 토대로 그동안 정부(政府)가 추진해 온 제반시책(諸般施策)을 평가하였다. 현황(現況)과 정책(政策)에 관한 병렬식(竝列式) 논의(論議)를 통하여 과거 출자규제(出資規制)와 여신관리(與信管理)를 중심으로 한 정부(政府)의 경제력집중대책(經濟力集中對策)이 경제력집중(經濟力集中)의 세가지 측면인 생산집중, 업종다변화, 소유집중 가운데에서도 주로 생산집중(生産集中)과 업종다변화(業種多邊化)를 규제했음을 보였다. 향후에는 소유분산(所有分散)을 중심으로 경제력집중대책(經濟力集中對策)을 재편(再編)할 필요성과, 생산집중(生産集中)과 업종다변화(業種多邊化)에 관한 규제는 가급적 축소하되 오히려 금융(金融) 산업(産業) 언론(言論) 등 주요부문간 다변화(多邊化)에 관한 규제도입(規制導入)의 필요성을 제기하였다. 또한 경영구조(經營構造)에 관한 정부개입(政府介入)의 타당성이 의문시되기 때문에 소유(所有)와 경영(經營)의 분리(分離) 및 독립전문경영체제(獨立專門經營體制) 등에 있어서 정부(政府)가 기업집단(企業集團)을 일정한 방향으로 유도하는 것은 자제되어야 함을 지적하였다.