A lobby group of Korea’s large businesses on Thursday expressed its objection to a proposed bill on strengthening rules to ensure manufacturing and financial companies will not exert too much control over each other.

The opposition came hours after a group of ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers committed to so-called “economic democratization” announced a plan to submit the bill to the National Assembly next week at the latest.

The bill, among other things, is meant to limit voting rights of financial affiliates of family-run conglomerates, or chaebol, toward non-financial affiliates of the same business group.

The bill would lower voting rights of financial affiliates from the current 15 percent to 5 percent.

For example, if Samsung Life Insurance Co., a financial affiliate of Samsung Group, has a 7 percent stake of Samsung Electronics Co., Samsung Life would be only allowed to exercise the rights of only 5 percent of its stake of Samsung Electronics in a general meeting of shareholders.

The Federation of Korean Industries, which represents the interests of some 500 Korean conglomerates, said the proposed regulations could undermine job creation and corporate investment.

It said the regulations run counter to the global standard, noting no country limits voting rights of financial affiliates of a business group toward non-financial affiliates of the same business group. (Yonhap News)