Huh Chang-soo "Hope for Expanded Korea-Japan Investment"... Congratulatory Letter to New Japanese Prime Minister Suga

Huh Chang-soo, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, is announcing the 'Urgent Economic Proposal' in response to the spread of COVID-19 at the Federation of Korean Industries building in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 25th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Huh Chang-soo, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), recently sent a congratulatory letter on the 18th to Yoshihide Suga (菅 義偉), the newly appointed 99th Prime Minister of Japan, requesting the lifting of business entry restrictions and efforts to expand trade and investment, the FKI announced on the 20th.

In the letter, Chairman Huh stated, "The entire world, including Japan, is experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). I expect that Prime Minister Suga, based on his extensive experience and seniority accumulated in various fields, will be able to overcome the internal and external difficulties surrounding Japan."

Regarding Korea-Japan relations, Chairman Huh expressed hope, saying, "Although Korea-Japan relations have not been smooth due to differences in views on historical issues, and mutual human exchanges have been blocked by the spread of COVID-19 this year, causing further distance, I hope that the inauguration of the new Prime Minister will serve as an opportunity for Korea-Japan relations to develop in a future-oriented manner."

He also stated, "I hope that the mutual lifting of entry restrictions will facilitate the smooth exchange of businesspeople suffering in both countries, and that the new Prime Minister will make further efforts to expand trade and investment between Korea and Japan."

Chairman Huh continued, "Despite the ups and downs in Korea-Japan relations, the FKI has continued efforts to strengthen mutual economic cooperation with the Japanese business community, including the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), based on the principle of separating politics and economics. We will also strive for economic cooperation between the two countries and the development of future-oriented Korea-Japan relations through the Korea-Japan Business Council jointly hosted with Keidanren."

The FKI and Keidanren have held the Korea-Japan Business Council meetings since 1983 to discuss international economic issues surrounding both countries. A total of 28 meetings have been held in a cross-visit format until last year, and the 29th meeting, which was scheduled to be held this year, was postponed due to COVID-19 and is planned to be held in Seoul in 2021.

Regarding this letter, Kim Bong-man, Director of International Cooperation at the FKI, said, "Since the 1980s, the FKI has consistently worked for Korea-Japan economic cooperation by jointly hosting Korea-Japan Business Council meetings with Keidanren, and we will continue these efforts in the future."