Ryu Jin, the newly appointed chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), will lead major economic diplomacy initiatives spearheaded by the FKI, including the Korea-US Business Council and the Korea-Japan Business Council, starting with a visit to Poland on the 12th. This marks the first time in four years since 2019 that the FKI is leading a large-scale economic delegation to visit the United States and Japan to attend these business councils.
The press conference of Chairman Ryu Jin, who was inaugurated as the 39th chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, was held on the 22nd at the Federation of Korean Industries Hall. Chairman Ryu is answering reporters' questions. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@
On the 6th, the business community expressed expectations that before the time-consuming internal organizational reforms within the FKI are completed, Chairman Ryu will leverage his extensive international experience to successfully lead the private-sector economic diplomacy schedules in Poland, the US, and Japan through the end of the year, fulfilling the role of the leading economic organization.
Chairman Ryu’s first overseas trip after his inauguration will be to Poland. From the 12th to the 15th, he will lead the 'Poland Krynica Forum Public-Private Joint Korean Delegation' organized by the FKI to engage in private-sector economic diplomacy related to defense industry, nuclear power, and other sectors. The Krynica Economic Forum is a large-scale international conference honorarily sponsored by Andrzej Duda, the President of Poland.
Korean companies will have the opportunity to discuss ways to expand cooperation with Polish government and business officials in key sectors such as defense, infrastructure, nuclear power, and energy. Notably, this joint delegation’s visit to Poland is a follow-up to the economic delegation that accompanied President Yoon Suk-yeol during his state visit to Poland in July, placing the responsibility on Chairman Ryu to bring back more advanced and concrete cooperation outcomes.
As early as next month, or by early November at the latest, the Korea-US Business Council meeting will be held in Washington. Co-hosted by the FKI and the US Chamber of Commerce, the Korea-US Business Council is a private-sector economic cooperation forum that the FKI confidently promotes based on its solid network and is one of its key economic diplomacy events.
The meetings have been held alternately in Seoul and Washington from September to November each year, but due to COVID-19, they were replaced by virtual meetings in 2020 and 2021. This year marks the first time in four years that the FKI will lead a delegation to attend the meeting held in Washington. Since many agenda items discussed at the Korea-US Business Council have been realized through government consultations between the two countries, Chairman Ryu is expected to seek ways to minimize disadvantages for Korean companies arising from major issues such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the CHIPS Act, and semiconductor export controls to China. Chairman Ryu currently serves as the Korean co-chair of the Korea-US Business Council.
At the end of the year, the Korea-Japan Business Council, a private high-level economic cooperation channel jointly organized by the FKI and the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) to discuss mutual understanding, friendship promotion, and economic cooperation between the two countries, will be held in Tokyo. This meeting was suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 but resumed last July in Seoul. For the first time, executives from Korea’s four major conglomerates participated, and following the meeting, the Japanese delegation held successive meetings with the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, playing a significant role in restoring Korea-Japan economic relations. With the Yoon Suk-yeol administration supporting the restoration of Korea-Japan relations, the meeting in Tokyo at the end of the year is likely to feature advanced discussions on the Korea-Japan Future Partnership Fund and cooperation in materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang).
The current issue facing the FKI is the lack of progress in organizational reform and expanding its membership. Although Chairman Ryu has taken office, the full-time vice chairman position responsible for the organization’s practical affairs remains vacant. Only after former Indonesian Ambassador Kim Chang-beom, who has been nominated as vice chairman, joins the FKI around mid-month will a full-scale organizational restructuring be possible.
The first step is to complete the name change process. The FKI has declared its intention to merge with the Korea Economic Research Institute under its umbrella and relaunch as the Korea Economic Association (HanKyungHyup). However, since the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has not yet approved this, the organization continues to use the FKI name. Along with the renaming, organizational reform must also be carried out. Only after these reforms can the FKI address practical issues such as expanding its membership and collecting membership fees from new members.
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