The growing number of “zombie companies” — firms that do not earn enough profit to pay tax and make interest payments — is becoming a major risk factor for the Korean economy.
According to recent data from Chaebul.com, an online corporate tracker, the number of listed corporations that logged pretax operating losses last year amounted to 541, or 31.1 percent of the total. The proportion, the highest in five years, marked a 2 percent increase from 29.1 percent in 2010.
The number of companies whose operating profits fell short of paying interest on their debts for three consecutive years rose by 22 percent from 2,698 in 2009 to 3,295 in 2014. As of June, the proportion of nonperforming corporate bonds held by local banks stood at 1.5 percent, up from 1.32 percent at the end of 2012. Bank loans extended to companies with impaired capital amounted to about 52 trillion won ($44 billion).
Liquidating failed businesses is a key part of structural economic reforms that are needed to contain a possible fallout from the worsening external conditions, including the slowdown in China, and boost its competitiveness.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision last week to leave its benchmark rate unchanged cannot be a reason for economic policymakers here to ease structural reform efforts. With the U.S. rate hike almost certain to come within this year, they should accelerate efforts to reduce internal risk factors in order to lessen its possible impact on the Korean economy.
The government has vowed to implement measures to address the zombie company problem. But it has failed to follow up the pledge by taking concrete action.
The delay in tackling the problem will only increase the cost of liquidating failed corporations and leave deeper scars on the economy. Bureaucrats may be tempted to avoid taking on the painful work. But they should recognize that their evasive attitude may cause greater pain to the economy.
As a recent report by a state-run think tank noted, the Korean economy is approaching a crucial juncture where it can move forward on the back of effective structural reforms or may be stuck in low growth over the long term. Unless structural problems are tackled squarely and thoroughly, corporate earnings will continue to drop and young people will find it harder to find decent jobs.
Funneling bank loans into promising enterprises, not zombie companies, is necessary to create more jobs that match the expectations of young, educated job seekers.
The Financial Services Commission scrapped a plan to establish a corporate restructuring vehicle Thursday. The abrupt withdrawal of the plan — which was announced only six days earlier — was due to objections from local commercial banks that were supposed to raise funds for the envisioned institution. Instead, an existing company set up to dispose of nonperforming loans will be reshaped to assume the function.
The moves by the FSC, which is in charge of stabilizing and advancing the financial industry, suggested government officials had not been thinking hard about effective ways to carry out corporate restructuring. They seemed to have put forward a half-baked idea to show they were addressing the problem.
There is no time to waste on discussing how to liquidate failed businesses. Swift actions should be taken under specific plans.
In this respect, the government can and should demonstrate its firm will to push through structural reforms by liquidating about 300 zombie companies that stay afloat on bailouts from state-run banks.
