Public favorability toward domestic businesses has climbed to its highest level since tracking began in 2003, according to an annual survey released Wednesday by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The business lobby’s Corporate Favorability Index — a comprehensive barometer tracking public sentiment across seven distinct categories — rose 3.9 points from a year earlier to land at 60.1 out of 100. It marks the first time the index has crossed the symbolically important 60-point threshold. The upswing was remarkably broad-based, with all seven sub-indexes posting year-on-year gains for the first time in the survey’s history. Global prestige led the charge: International competitiveness registered the sharpest spike, jumping 6.8 points, followed closely by environmental management and industrial productivity. Yet, old anxieties linger. Ethical management, despite a modest 3.1-point uptick, remained the sole category trapped below the favorability waterline, scoring 47.1. Lee Won-jae, a professor at KAIST’s Graduate School of Culture Technology, noted that this long-te
Public approval of Korea’s corporate giants hits record high
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