FKCCI and Keidanren Hold 'Korea-Japan Industrial Cooperation Forum'
"Discovering Joint Projects in Third Countries... Cooperation in Finance, SMR, AI, etc."
Representatives from major economic organizations and business leaders from Korea and Japan gathered to pledge joint responses to global issues and cooperation in future new industries. This comes just two months after agreeing to operate a Korea-Japan Future Partnership Fund worth approximately 2 billion KRW, with each side contributing about 1 billion KRW.
The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced that, together with the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), they held the "Korea-Japan Industrial Cooperation Forum" on the 6th at the FKI building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. The forum discussed topics including joint expansion into third countries, finance, responses to global common challenges, and advanced industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum technology.
In the financial sector, it was suggested that cooperation between Korea, which excels in digital finance, and Japan, which has a strong yen-based financial market influence, is promising. Recently, the two countries also resumed their currency swap agreement.
Regarding global common challenges such as carbon neutrality, there was discussion about the need for both countries to share know-how on future energy technology cooperation. There was also a call to join forces to establish a stable supply chain in the energy security sector.
The two countries are already cooperating in supply chains for core industries such as semiconductors and batteries. Forum participants agreed on the need to collaborate in next-generation technology fields such as AI and quantum technology going forward.
Kim Byung-joon, Acting Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (left), and Tokura Masakazu, Chairman of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), explaining the direction of fund management at a press conference related to the Future Partnership Fund held at the Keidanren Hall in Tokyo on May 10. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Kim Byung-joon, Acting Chairman of the FKI, said in his opening remarks, "The Korea-Japan relationship has never stopped in terms of the economy." The two countries participated in establishing the "Chiang Mai Initiative" for Asian financial stability following the International Monetary Fund (IMF) foreign exchange crisis. Referring to this example, Acting Chairman Kim said, "In the history of industrial development, Korea and Japan have been good-natured competitors and partners in cooperation and development, seeking ways to turn crises into opportunities together."
Masakazu Tokura, Chairman of Keidanren, said, "Exactly one year ago on July 4 last year, at the Korea-Japan Business Meeting held in Seoul, I had the opportunity to meet President Yoon Suk-yeol and hear about improving bilateral relations. Since then, I have felt that the relationship between the two countries has changed significantly." He added, "The business community also wants to deepen this momentum and hopes that today's forum will be the first step."
On the Korean side, attendees included Acting Chairman Kim Byung-joon, Kim Yoon, Chairman of Samyang Holdings (Chairman of the Korea-Japan Economic Association), Jin Ok-dong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, Kim Kyo-hyun, Vice Chairman and CEO of Lotte Chemical, and Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver. On the Japanese side, participants included Masakazu Tokura, Chairman of Keidanren (Chairman of Sumitomo Chemical), Yasuhiko Sato, Special Advisor of Mizuho Financial Group, Toshiaki Higashihara, Chairman of Hitachi Ltd., Nobuhiro Endo, Special Advisor of NEC Corporation, and Masakazu Kubota, Vice Chairman of Keidanren. Representing the Korean government was Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, and from the Japanese government, Takehiko Matsuo, Director-General of the Trade Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The advisory chairpersons of the Korea-Japan Future Partnership Fund emphasized the need to maintain a future-oriented bilateral relationship. Kang Sung-jin, a professor at Korea University and advisory chairman on the Korean side, said, "To sustain a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship, young generations must be able to engage in frank dialogue and set directions. Cooperation in building startup ecosystems and regular exchanges among students and teachers are necessary."
Yukiko Fukagawa, a professor at Waseda University and advisory chairperson on the Japanese side, said, "With digital transformation (DX), regulatory reform and venture innovation have become key to global competitiveness, and responding to social changes such as eco-friendly energy has become important. There is now greater room for cooperation between the two countries for a sustainable future."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
