Yoon: "Will Specify Korea-Japan Cooperation on Health and Supply Chains at G7 Summit"

President Yoon Meets Japanese Delegation at Korea-Japan Business Council
Urges Joint Response to Global Issues by Companies of Both Countries

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 15th, "At the upcoming G7 Summit to be held in Hiroshima this weekend, South Korea and Japan will further concretize cooperation on global issues such as health, global supply chains, and climate change."

President Yoon made these remarks while meeting with the Japanese delegation visiting Korea to attend the Korea-Japan Business Council meeting that afternoon. According to Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, he said, "We expect that companies from both countries will jointly respond to global challenges through mutually complementary cooperation, enter third countries together, create business opportunities, solve global problems, and contribute to the economic growth of developing countries, thereby presenting a new vision."

President Yoon noted, "It took 12 years to restore Korea-Japan shuttle diplomacy, but it took less than two months for the leaders of both countries to visit each other," adding, "Since the two countries are discussing concrete cooperation plans across a wide range of fields including economy, industry, science, culture, and human exchanges, I hope businesspeople from both countries will also push forward cooperation with a sense of urgency."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is meeting with the Japanese delegation of the Korea-Japan Business Meeting at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul on the 15th. [Photo by the Presidential Office] [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon said, "Since Korean companies possess excellent manufacturing technology and Japanese companies have strong competitiveness in materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang), mutually complementary cooperation is possible. Therefore, I look forward to companies from both countries cooperating to establish stable supply chains in advanced industries such as semiconductors, batteries, and electric vehicles."

Mikio Sasaki, Chairman of the Japan-Korea Economic Association, expressed, "With accelerated dialogue between the governments of both countries and the resumption of shuttle diplomacy between the leaders, businesspeople could not be happier," and expressed gratitude for President Yoon's strong determination and leadership.

In response, President Yoon emphasized, "Exchange and participation of future generations are of utmost importance," and requested, "I ask for the keen interest of businesspeople from both countries so that exchanges among youth from both countries can be revitalized through the 'Korea-Japan Future Partnership Fund' operated by the Federation of Korean Industries and the Japan Business Federation."

Chairman Sasaki replied, "The number of exchange and cooperation cases between the two countries is greatly increasing. Now that COVID-19 is over, we will strive to increase mutual internships and employment among university students to expand exchanges among the younger generation," adding, "If South Korea and Japan cooperate, 1+1 does not equal 2, but can be 3 or 4."