Choi Tae-won Unable to Decide on "Decision to Leave": "China is the Number One Economic Partner... Korea Cannot Set the Rules"

Chairman Chey Tae-won of the Korea Chamber of Commerce Year-End Meeting

Chairman Choi Tae-won of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry is speaking at the year-end press conference held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the 21st. Photo by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] "The Korea-US-Japan alliance is important, and the security alliance with the United States is also quite significant in terms of security, so it cannot be neglected. Also, the 'number one' economic partner is China. We are not in a position to neglect or exclude China."

"We will also make efforts, but honestly, in issues like the US-China conflict, there are cases where we have no choice. There is a possibility that we will not be the ones setting the rules."

On the 21st, at a year-end press conference held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Jung-gu, Seoul, Choi Tae-won, chairman of the KCCI, responded this way to a question asking, "Rather than securing a new small market, maintaining how much of the existing large market is also important. What do you think?" He indirectly implied that despite the great uncertainty in management, the Chinese market cannot be ignored.

He said, "If you choose one, there is a problem where you cannot choose the other together," adding, "This does not mean it happens equally in all industries, but in certain fields and certain forms, this is happening, and if it goes wrong over time, it could spread."

Chairman Choi did not specify which country or industry the large market refers to. However, recently SK Hynix decided to reduce its capital investment next year by 50% compared to this year, and with the US imposing restrictions on semiconductor equipment imports to China, there is speculation that he was referring to the 'Chinese semiconductor' market. SK Hynix operates DRAM and NAND flash factories in Wuxi and Dalian, China, respectively. About 90% of the company's total sales come from memory semiconductors such as DRAM and NAND. Approximately half of the total DRAM is produced at the Wuxi factory. If the Chinese market disappears, the impact would inevitably be significant.

He also conveyed a message that economic cooperation with neighboring Japan should be strengthened regardless of historical issues. Chairman Choi said, "If the current G2 conflict intensifies, neighboring countries will need to unite a little more on their own," and added, "Japan's economy has also cooled down similarly to ours, and in a situation with no clear solution, it could be a good state to create synergy and have discussions together." He emphasized, "There are various issues such as historical problems with Japan, but those are just that," and stressed, "We must continue to talk about how to worry about the future, overcome the economic crisis, and share benefits."

He also likened the supply chain collapse to the title of the movie Decision to Leave. This was in the process of explaining the dilemma of not being able to completely sever ties with certain countries or industries. Chairman Choi said, "I am not saying, 'I have made the decision to leave (supply chain collapse), so I won’t see this person anymore,' cutting off abruptly, but it inevitably flows into a complex form where some things are done and others are not."

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