Strengthening Korea-Japan Economic Cooperation... Calls for Economic Security Alliance and Startup Ecosystem Development

Heads of Korea's Top 4 Conglomerates and Over 20 Leading Korean and Japanese Business Figures Attend
Meeting

On the 17th, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) held the "Korea-Japan Business Round Table (BRT)" at the Keidanren Hall in Tokyo, where the Korean side requested strengthening the economic security alliance and building a joint startup ecosystem.

At the BRT held under the theme of "Revitalizing Korea-Japan Economic Cooperation," 12 leading Korean business figures attended, including Kim Byung-joon, Acting Chairman of the FKI, and other FKI chairpersons. The chairmen of Korea's four major conglomerates?Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics, Chey Tae-won of SK Group, Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor, and Koo Kwang-mo of LG?were all present. This marks the first time in about 20 years that the chairmen of the four major groups have all attended a Korea-Japan business event. From Japan, 11 people including Masakazu Tokura, Chairman of Keidanren, participated.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In his opening remarks, Acting Chairman Kim welcomed the restoration of shuttle diplomacy between the two countries' leaders after 12 years, saying, "We especially appreciate the agreement to remove obstacles to Korea-Japan trade, such as export regulations." He added, "Taking advantage of the normalization of Korea-Japan relations, the FKI and Keidanren will jointly establish the 'Korea-Japan Future Partnership Fund' and work together on joint research on current issues and youth exchanges to build a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship."

He also stated, "The business communities of both countries will actively expand economic exchanges in various areas, including ▲mutual investment expansion, ▲joint response to weaponization of resources, ▲cooperation in building global supply chains, ▲normalization of Korea-Japan human exchanges, ▲expansion of joint ventures in third countries, and ▲collaboration in new industry sectors." Masakazu Tokura, Chairman of Keidanren, said, "Now is the time to stand at a future-oriented point and strengthen linkage and cooperation by sharing wisdom between both sides." Chairman Tokura emphasized, "The Korea-Japan governments are promoting the normalization of relations, and we must not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but firmly pave the way toward building a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship."

At the BRT, Korean business leaders requested the government to ▲strengthen the economic security alliance between Korea and Japan, key countries in Chip4, ▲expand exchanges among the younger generations of both countries and build a joint startup ecosystem, and ▲enhance Korea-Japan cooperation in global rule-setting. Japanese business leaders stated, "The business community should promote the expansion of trade and investment between the two countries, innovation in digital and green sectors, linkage of growth industries, and cooperation in third-country markets to expand economic exchanges."