Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, "We Must Prepare for the Three Storms: Tariffs, Inflation, and AI"

Yonhap News

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, diagnosed on the 6th that "the current global economy is facing three storms: the US-originated tariff storm, inflation, and the development of artificial intelligence (AI)."

Chairman Choi made this remark during his greeting at the '2025 Seoul New Year's Meeting' hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government at the Chamber of Commerce building in Jung-gu, Seoul, emphasizing, "In preparation for these storms, it is necessary to start planting apple trees from now on."

First, Chairman Choi said about the tariff storm and inflation, "They can be a focal point to gauge how trade order and each country's competitiveness will move," adding, "If the whole world raises tariffs due to US-originated tariffs and retaliatory tariffs in response, prices in all countries will eventually rise."

He also stated, "The development of AI will be a significant variable in each country's competitiveness, affecting not just one or two years but 10 or 20 years," emphasizing, "There is a need to newly establish infrastructure to lead the AI industry."

Furthermore, he added, "Seoul Metropolitan Government has recently established a national AI research hub and is leading the introduction of autonomous buses and drone taxis, but the experimental grounds need to be expanded further to become a foundation for industrial development."

About 600 people attended the Seoul New Year's Meeting that day, including Chairman Choi Tae-won, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Seoul Metropolitan Council Chairman Choi Ho-jung, James Kim, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, as well as political, governmental, economic figures, and foreign diplomatic envoys in Korea.