More than 10 of the nation’s top business organizations including the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday said they would join hands to oppose a controversial business law revision.

According to the revision agreed upon last month, listed firms with assets of over 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) would be required to adopt concentrated voting, separately appoint auditors and directors, and form a pool of managers who are not members of the board of directors, a move that would effectively reducing the board’s authority.

Concentrated voting would give shareholders the number of votes corresponding to the number of empty director posts to be filled.

“On the surface, it may appear as if the revision is aimed at enhancing transparency at companies, but, in reality, it’s going to have ill effects by basically making the firms vulnerable to managerial takeovers,” said Kang Seok-gu, head of the Korean chamber’s corporate policy team.

FKI, which is leading the campaign against the law revision, shared a similar view.

“Companies will become more anxious than ever to protect themselves from hostile takeovers or other threats to their managerial rights,” said one FKI official. “This will consequently give them less leeway to focus on growth.”

The organizations said they already held a meeting last month and would soon hand their opinion to the government by Aug. 25 when the legislative announcement period ends.

The government, including Cheong Wa Dae ― which is at the center of the economic democratization drive ― is also reportedly leaning toward easing the revision, according to local media sources on Tuesday.

One Cheong Wa Dae official reportedly acknowledged the complaints from the corporate sector.

“It seems that the combination of these regulations is bringing about results we did not anticipate,” he said. “The revision will be adjusted accordingly to ensure that it fulfills its original purpose.”

Economic democratization is one of President Park Geun-hye’s key policies aimed at creating an equal playing field for companies of all sizes.

But corporate Korea, while it acknowledges the need for reforms, has been dissatisfied with regulations it perceives to be disadvantageous to larger firms, particularly conglomerates.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)