Kishida and Yoon, who drank Hwahaeju, are 'Salesmen' again today

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President Yoon Suk-yeol met with political figures from Korea and Japan on the 17th and attended the Korea-Japan Business Roundtable hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries and Keidanren. Having shared a ‘harmony drink’ of Japanese beer and Korean soju with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida the previous day, President Yoon is now meeting with political and economic leaders, interpreted as stepping forward as the ‘Republic of Korea’s first sales representative.’

On the morning of the same day, President Yoon met with Korea-Japan friendship organizations including the Korea-Japan Parliamentary League, the Korea-Japan Friendship Association Central Committee, and the Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee at his residence in Tokyo, Japan. Spending time in fellowship with Prime Minister Kishida until late, President Yoon reaffirmed his willingness to cooperate with the political sector as government-level cooperation has resumed. It was previously reported that during the fellowship time after the Korea-Japan summit the day before, they shared a harmony drink.

During the gathering, as they raised their beer glasses, President Yoon proposed to also drink Korean soju together as a symbol of harmony. Prime Minister Kishida, who drank soju alongside beer, responded with the phrase ‘the taste of Korea-Japan friendship.’ It is said that when President Yoon expressed his desire to advance Korea-Japan relations unprecedentedly during his term in an open and sincere atmosphere, Prime Minister Kishida also showed active agreement. Notably, President Yoon also met with the leadership of Japan’s main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party. Although this event was not originally scheduled, it is reported that a few days before President Yoon’s visit to Japan, the Japanese opposition party expressed their hope to meet President Yoon in a welcoming spirit toward opening a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At 12 p.m., President Yoon attended the ‘Korea-Japan Business Roundtable’ held at the Keidanren Hall in Tokyo, Japan, where they discussed a future-oriented vision for economic cooperation between the two countries. This is the first time in 14 years that a Korean president has attended a Korea-Japan economic event since the ‘Korea-Japan Economic Leaders Meeting’ held during President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to Japan in June 2009. At the event, President Yoon stated, “If there are any obstacles to economic exchanges between Korea and Japan, and if the government can remove them, we will gladly remove and support them.” The economic sectors of both countries agreed to work together on preparing for the future through stabilizing supply chains in advanced industries such as semiconductors and batteries, cooperation in advanced and scientific technologies, and digital transformation.

On the Korean side, 12 business leaders attended, including Kim Byung-joon, acting chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries; Kim Yoon, chairman of the Korea-Japan Economic Association; Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung; Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group; Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group; Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of LG Group; along with the Federation of Korean Industries’ chairman group. On the Japanese side, 11 business leaders attended, including Masakazu Tokura, chairman of Keidanren, and Mikio Sasaki, chairman of the Japan-Korea Economic Association. Japanese companies represented included Sumitomo, Mitsui, Hitachi, Marubeni, Toray, Nomura Holdings, and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Earlier, the Federation of Korean Industries and Keidanren held a joint press conference at Keidanren Hall in Tokyo in the afternoon, declaring the establishment of the ‘Korea-Japan Future Partnership Fund (Federation of Korean Industries)’ and the ‘Japan-Korea Future Partnership Fund (Keidanren)’ as part of their joint projects.

Finally, President Yoon plans to visit Keio University to hold a lecture for Korean international students and Japanese university students. At this event, he intends to encourage future leaders of Korea-Japan relations and broaden consensus for expanding exchange and cooperation between the two countries.

[Image source=Yonhap News]