SK Group (034730) Chairman Chey Tae-won has proposed that the governments of Korea and Japan build a permanent "big tent" platform that brings together cooperation agendas from various sectors, including business, academia and young people. The idea is to establish an institutional foundation so that the voluntarily emerging Korea-Japan cooperation is not shaken by differences in regulations and standards or by short-term political circumstances.
Chey made the remarks Tuesday during a dialogue on "Priority Tasks for the Korea-Japan Economy Amid a Complex Global Environment" at the "Korea-Japan Special Session" of the Nikkei Forum held at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. "There are many exchanges between Korea and Japan, but whenever an issue arises, they tend to lose direction or drift," he said. "If a big tent is organized where the government, political circles and the private sector can come together and discuss, the power to overcome will emerge."
He proposed forming a task force (TF) at the government level to discuss tasks to be pursued, and based on this, creating a standing organization to provide support such as budget.
Citing energy, artificial intelligence (AI) and low birth rates as areas for Korea-Japan economic cooperation, Chey said, "Korea-Japan economic solidarity will become a stepping stone to leap both countries into 'rule makers' leading a new international order."
He also stressed that economic cooperation between the two countries is an obligation for the younger generation. "The younger generation has no hope for the future and no expectations for growth, so their dreams become smaller and their efforts in investment and research for the future decline," Chey said. "What the older generation must do is to enable young people to live more boldly in a low-growth economy." Chey explained that if Korea and Japan cooperate economically, Japan exceeding $4 trillion and Korea exceeding $2 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP) terms could generate an additional $1 trillion in synergy effects.
Masakazu Tokura, advisor to Sumitomo Chemical and former chairman of Keidanren, who held the dialogue with Chey, expressed agreement, saying, "We must cooperate in developing next-generation nuclear reactors such as small modular reactors (SMRs)." Mizuho Bank President Masahiko Kato also added support to materializing Korea-Japan economic solidarity, citing cooperation between companies of the two countries in the fields of AI data centers, semiconductors and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as examples.
Former National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appeared as keynote speakers at the event and called for cooperation between the two countries. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok also said in a video congratulatory message, "The government will do its best to achieve results that all citizens of both countries can feel."
