Business leaders from South Korea and Japan agreed to jointly respond to the spread of global protectionism, supply chain instability and demographic decline, and to combine the two countries' industrial capabilities to find new growth opportunities.
The Federation of Korean Industries and the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, issued a joint statement to that effect at the 33rd Korea-Japan Business Conference held on the 23rd at the FKI Tower in Seoul's Yeouido district. Attendees included FKI Chairman Ryu Jin, Lotte Group Chairman Dong-bin Shin, Hyosung (004800) Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon and Samyang Holdings (000070) Chairman Kim Yun. The Japanese delegation included Keidanren Chairman Yoshinobu Tsutsui, Sony Group Chairman Kenichiro Yoshida and Sumitomo Chemical Chairman Keiichi Iwata.
In his opening remarks, Ryu said, "If the past 60 years were an era of exchange across the Korea Strait, I hope the next 60 years will be a time of cooperation in which we look together beyond the horizon." He proposed economic security cooperation, including a joint response to U.S. trade policy, stronger supply chain and energy security through a mutual support system for critical items in emergencies, and joint efforts to address low birth rates and the decline of provincial regions.
Tsutsui said the two countries must work together to expand a free and open trade and investment environment, given their high dependence on external markets. He also cited the need to deepen and expand multilateral economic agreements, including reform of the World Trade Organization and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying Keidanren strongly anticipates Korea's application to join the CPTPP.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan said in a keynote speech that instability in global supply chains is widening amid intensifying U.S.-China strategic competition and geopolitical uncertainty, stressing a joint response through a strategic partnership between Korea and Japan. He proposed cooperation not only in securing resources and responding to the trade order but also in physical artificial intelligence.
In the joint statement, the two business communities agreed to cooperate on restoring a WTO-centered trade order and on Korea's accession to the CPTPP, and to work together on cross-border data flows and the establishment of international norms for AI. In energy, they agreed to strengthen cooperation on expanding hydrogen and ammonia supplies and building related certification and standards systems, and discussed flexible responses to changes in liquefied natural gas supply and demand as well as stockpiling of critical minerals.
They also agreed to use the Partnership for Overcoming Weaknesses in Energy and Resource Resilience in Asia, or POWERR Asia, proposed by Japan, to explore joint projects in third countries and to cooperate on energy security and supply chain stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
