Expected to Resume After 5 Years... Korea-Japan Chamber of Commerce Chairpersons Meeting Postponed

Choi Tae-won "Rapid Changes in Global Situation... Importance of Korea-Japan Cooperation"
Proposed November Busan Event, but Japan Requested Postponement

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a luncheon meeting at the 63 Building in Yeouido on the 11th, inviting the delegation of the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union, who visited Korea to attend the inauguration ceremony of Yoon Suk-yeol, the 20th president.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The Korea-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) chairpersons' meeting, which was expected to resume this month after five years, has been postponed until next year.

According to business circles on the 4th, the Japan Chamber of Commerce recently requested the Korea Chamber of Commerce to postpone the Korea-Japan chairpersons' meeting. The reason cited was that the new chairman is scheduled to take office on the 17th, and due to subsequent schedules such as business reports and consultations with regional chambers, holding the meeting would be difficult.

Akio Mimura, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and former president of Nippon Steel, stepped down last month as his term expired. He led the chamber for a remarkable nine years since 2013. Chairman Mimura also visited Korea in 2011 to pay respects personally upon the passing of the late Park Tae-joon, Honorary Chairman of POSCO. The new chairman is Ken Kobayashi, former president of Mitsubishi Corporation, making him the first chairman from a major trading company background.

The Korea-Japan CCI chairpersons' meeting, an economic exchange event between the two countries, was held alternately in Korea and Japan every year until 2017. However, it has not been held since 2019 due to the Korea-Japan trade conflict in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic overlapping.

However, following the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, which has emphasized "improving Korea-Japan relations," the Korea Chamber of Commerce has been pushing to resume the chairpersons' meeting this month in Busan. This was based on the need to restore cooperation between the two countries amid rapidly changing global circumstances such as the global supply chain restructuring earlier this year and the Russia-Ukraine war. It also reflects the intention to seek cooperation for the bid to host the "2030 Busan World Expo."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Choi Tae-won of the Korea Chamber of Commerce has also devoted considerable effort to improving relations between the two countries.

In May, during a meeting with the delegation of the Japan-Korea Parliamentary League visiting Korea, he said, "One of the first things I did after taking office as chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce was to send a letter to the Japan Chamber of Commerce to strengthen Korea-Japan exchanges," emphasizing that "in the rapidly changing global situation, cooperation between Korea and Japan is more important than ever."

In June, he visited Japan and met with Chairman Mimura and Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), respectively, to discuss the resumption of Korea-Japan economic cooperation. It is reported that Chairman Choi proposed resuming the Korea-Japan CCI chairpersons' meeting at this occasion.

With active movements to improve bilateral relations this year, the possibility of the meeting taking place was considered high. In July, the Federation of Korean Industries and the Japan Business Federation held the Korea-Japan Business Conference. In September, President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held an informal Korea-Japan summit in New York, USA.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce plans to push for the chairpersons' meeting again early next year. A chamber official said, "Since Chairman Choi visited Japan and met with both the former and new chairmen, the willingness of both sides to improve relations has been confirmed," adding, "We plan to pursue the resumption of the meeting next year."

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