Chairman Chey Tae-won’s First Step in 'Economic Diplomacy'... "ESG Management Must Be Established"

Chairman Chey Tae-won of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's First Visit to the U.S. Since Inauguration
Sequential Networking with Major U.S. Economic Organizations
Exploring Cooperation Based on 'New Entrepreneurship'

Chairman Chey Tae-won of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (right in the photo) attended the Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable held in Washington D.C., USA, on the 21st (local time), where he met and shook hands with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Photo by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK and concurrently chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), conducted economic diplomacy to promote practical cooperation between the Korean and U.S. business communities in Washington, USA, where the Korea-U.S. summit was held.

According to KCCI and SK on the 23rd, Chairman Choi attended the Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable held on the morning of the 21st (local time), attended by President Moon Jae-in, industry ministers from both Korea and the U.S., and major business leaders. He emphasized expanding investment in the U.S. in three major industries?semiconductors, batteries, and bio?and creating social values centered on local communities such as quality jobs and environmental protection.

◆ Chairman Choi Tae-won Emphasizes Stakeholder Capitalism and ESG Management= Right after the Business Roundtable, Chairman Choi met with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo for a cordial talk, discussing economic issues between the two countries, and in the afternoon, he attended the summit briefing held at the White House, managing a busy schedule.

In particular, considering that this visit to the U.S. was his first overseas schedule since assuming the chairmanship of KCCI, he focused on promoting the "Korean economy" by meeting consecutively with leaders of major U.S. economic organizations and think tanks and exploring ways to enhance industrial competitiveness.

On the 21st, Chairman Choi held a virtual meeting with Joshua Bolten, chairman of the Business Roundtable (BRT), a representative U.S. economic organization, and Paul Delainey, vice chairman in charge of trade and international affairs, discussing ways for the business communities of both countries to cooperate. Established in 1972, BRT is an economic organization composed of CEOs of the top 200 U.S. companies such as Apple, Amazon, Walmart, General Motors, and Johnson & Johnson. Along with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC), it is considered one of the three major economic organizations in the U.S.

Chairman Choi and Bolten shared the recognition that management based on "new entrepreneurship," including stakeholder capitalism and ESG (environment, social, governance) management, is necessary for sustainable growth, and agreed to seek concrete and effective methodologies.

Chairman Choi emphasized, "With increasing uncertainty due to rapidly changing international circumstances and challenges such as climate change, income disparity, and population decline, it is important to establish stakeholder capitalism and ESG management to solve the problems we face. For this, there is much that KCCI and BRT must do together." He proposed a visit by the BRT delegation to Korea for continuous discussions in the future.

Stakeholder capitalism is management that respects all stakeholders, including customers, workers, partner companies, and local communities, aligning with the social value pursuit management that Chairman Choi has emphasized.

◆ Meeting with U.S. ITI... Discussing Ways to Strengthen Competitiveness of Korean Companies in Semiconductors and IT= Earlier on the 20th, Chairman Choi also held a meeting with Jason Oxman, chairman of the U.S. Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), and Rob Strayer, vice chairman, gathering broad opinions on the Biden administration’s industrial restructuring strategy and semiconductor and information communication policy trends, then exploring ways to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic companies.

ITI is a specialized organization in the semiconductor and information communication fields, with members including U.S. companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Intel, as well as global companies like SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Taiwan’s TSMC.

Chairman Choi said, "Korean companies have played a solid economic partner role for the U.S. through dynamic investment in the U.S., stable semiconductor supply, mass production of hydrogen economy and electric vehicle batteries, and creation of good jobs. In the information communication sector as well, let us build various cooperation channels so that the industrial competitiveness of both countries can grow to the next level."

Oxman responded, "The Biden administration is also very interested in cooperation with Korean companies to rebuild the U.S. economy and restore global leadership. Let us further enhance economic friendship between the two countries through close dialogue between ITI and KCCI."

In addition, on the 20th, Chairman Choi strengthened networking with strategic experts by holding a meeting with the Atlantic Council, a renowned U.S. think tank. This was based on the judgment that it could contribute to strengthening the crisis response capabilities of domestic companies amid the rapidly changing global economic paradigm due to COVID-19 and U.S.-China economic conflicts.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.