Yoon urges closer economic partnership with Tokyo in meeting with Japanese business leaders

President Yoon Suk Yeol called for further expansion of the economic partnership between Korea and Japan to pursue joint export opportunities in overseas markets amid a recent fivefold surge in investment pledges from neighboring countries.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, speaks during a meeting with the Japanese business delegation at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Friday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol called for further expansion of the economic partnership between Korea and Japan to pursue joint export opportunities in overseas markets amid a recent fivefold surge in investment pledges from neighboring countries.

His remarks came during the president’s meeting with Japanese business leaders who visited Seoul for the 31st Korea-Japan Business Council on Friday, ahead of the two countries’ 60th anniversary of re-establishing diplomatic relationship next year.

“We have been working to build a future-oriented relationship between Korea and Japan since my inauguration,” said Yoon during the meeting with the Japanese delegation at the presidential office in central Seoul, noting that the recent surge in Japanese investment pledges to Korea reflects the progress made so far.

“Although businesses from Korea and Japan may sometimes compete against each other, we hope that the collaboration between companies from both countries would further grow and deepen in the future, leading to successful ventures such as jointly entering third-party markets and more.”

Korea accumulated foreign direct investment pledges worth $25.2 billion for the first nine months of this year, a record figure. This marked a 5.2 percent increase from a year earlier, mainly driven by heightened interest from Japanese investors.

Investment commitments from Japan surged a whopping 412.7 percent to $4.69 billion, which the Korean government attributed to the bolstered economic ties between the two countries.

Korea has pursued tighter ties with its neighbor since Yoon met with then-Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last March.

Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) Chair Masakazu Tokura, who led the Japanese business delegation for the latest meeting, expressed his gratitude and promised to actively support Korea with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit set to take place in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, next year.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, shakes his hand with Japan Business Federation Chairman Masakazu Tokura at the presidential office in central Seoul on Friday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and Keidanren held the 31st Korea-Japan Business Council earlier that day, issuing a joint statement pledging “continued future-oriented efforts for shared prosperity.”

The latest meeting came about a week after Yoon and new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s first summit in Laos.

The previous Korea-Japan Business Council took place in Tokyo in January this year, the first gathering between the two business lobbies since June 2022.

The meeting was attended by 17 businesspeople from Korea, including FKI Chairman Ryu Jin, Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon and Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong, and seven counterparts from Keidanren.

The joint statement highlighted the need to strengthen partnerships further to secure a stable energy supply chain and advance the digital economy.

The two business lobbies agreed to collaborate on expanding the deployment of hydrogen-fueled cars and developing the hydrogen ecosystem while also seeking the standardization of hydrogen and ammonia-related technologies.

Moreover, the lobby groups agreed to jointly request their governments to facilitate communication, including relaxing border controls between the two countries.

“The Korea-Japan relationship has matured enough, and now we are ready to head to shared prosperity together,” said Ryu in his opening remarks.

“With protectionism rising and concerns growing over the segmentation of the global economy, strong business ties between Korea and Japan are more crucial than ever,” stressed Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun in his remarks.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]