Chairman Ryu Jin of FKI: "We Must Open the Era of 'Korea-Japan Economic Cooperation 2.0' Built on 60 Years of Trust"

The 32nd Korea-Japan Business Conference Held in Tokyo, Japan
Ryu Jin's Opening Remarks: "Strengthening Cooperation Is the Top Priority"
Emphasis on the Need for AI, Digital, and Hydrogen-Related Collaboration
Joint Efforts for Korea's CPTPP Accession Highlighted
Joint Statement Adopted to Enhance Connectivity and Cooperation

Ryu Jin, Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, emphasized at the 32nd Korea-Japan Business Conference held at the Keidanren Kaikan in Tokyo, Japan, on the morning of October 17, 2025, that "the two countries must now open a new era of 'Korea-Japan Economic Cooperation 2.0' built on the solid trust established over the past 60 years."

Chairman Ryu delivered the opening remarks at the meeting, stating, "Strengthening cooperation on the international stage is the top priority. Given the rapidly changing global environment and growing uncertainties, Korea and Japan, whose economic and industrial structures are similar, must speak with one voice in supply chain restructuring and discussions on international norms."

In particular, Chairman Ryu highlighted the importance of Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan cooperation in areas such as hydrogen, future vehicle standards, and resource security. He added, "Joint efforts by both countries are needed for Korea's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)."

Korea's accession to the CPTPP is regarded as an essential task for both countries to jointly open new opportunities in an increasingly uncertain global market, and it has recently drawn significant attention from the business community. At this meeting, in-depth discussions were held on this issue. During a session on 'International Cooperation Measures to Strengthen Economic Cooperation,' business leaders from both countries agreed that Korea's accession to the CPTPP is now an imperative. They also noted that, as the World Trade Organization (WTO) faces instability, Korea's membership in the CPTPP could contribute to restoring the global free trade order and multilateral cooperation system.

Tsutsui Yoshinobu, Chairman of Keidanren, stated, "Maintaining and strengthening a free and open international economic order based on rules, which has been the foundation of growth for both Korea and Japan, is more important than ever." He continued, "To realize a fairer and more multilateral free trade system, we must pursue WTO reform and work together to deepen and expand economic partnership agreements (EPAs) such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the CPTPP."

The business communities of both countries also agreed to jointly respond to global trade environment changes, including the worldwide spread of protectionism, and to deepen practical cooperation in areas such as energy collaboration and supply chain reinforcement. Furthermore, they reaffirmed the importance of trilateral communication among the business communities of Korea, the United States, and Japan, including the Korea-US-Japan Business Dialogue. Regarding the Korea-China-Japan Free Trade Agreement (FTA), both sides agreed on the need to accelerate negotiations to achieve a higher level of trade and investment liberalization and rules compared to the RCEP.

It was also assessed that companies must formulate strategies amid "super-uncertainty" due to overlapping geopolitical risks such as US tariff measures and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war. To overcome these challenges, both countries are pursuing economic policies centered on three pillars: artificial intelligence (AI), green transition, and trade response. As the policy directions of both countries are similar, there is significant potential for cooperation. They also reached a consensus that, given the repeated discussions on the need for Korea-Japan hydrogen cooperation and the establishment of a broad framework for cooperation at both governmental and private levels, it is now time to produce tangible results.

In the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation, it was suggested that Korea should focus on building an ecosystem where all members can benefit, based on the philosophy of "inclusive AI." Both countries also agreed that they should work together to address common challenges such as super-aging, disaster response, the digital divide, talent acquisition, energy, and supply chains through AI and digital technology cooperation.

As a new dimension of Korea-Japan economic cooperation, it was proposed that mutual opening of automated immigration systems should be implemented to enhance convenience for citizens of both countries when entering and exiting each other's borders. The need for future generation exchanges, centered on exchange students and study abroad, to lead to job opportunities was also discussed. In this regard, it was suggested that economic organizations could identify the needs of international students and companies and provide information through online platforms.

Regarding the recent active cooperation between the two countries in the cultural and content sectors, measures were proposed to strengthen the global market entry of jointly produced Korea-Japan content through global online video services (OTT). The necessity of cooperation through the overseas expansion of Korea-Japan joint music groups and strategies to expand a single original work into various content formats was also emphasized.

The meeting was hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries and Keidanren. On the Korean side, 14 business leaders attended, including Chairman Ryu, Shin Dongbin, Chairman of Lotte Group, Kim Yoon, Chairman of Samyang Holdings, Cho Hyunjoon, Chairman of Hyosung Group, Koo Ja-eun, Chairman of LS Group, Sung Rae-eun, Vice Chairman of Youngone Trading Group, Shin Hakcheol, Vice Chairman of LG Chem, and Choi Changshik, Vice Chairman of DB HiTek. On the Japanese side, 11 business leaders, including Chairman Yoshinobu of Keidanren, were present.

On this day, the Federation of Korean Industries and Keidanren also adopted a joint statement calling for the development of even closer ties and cooperation to elevate bilateral relations to a new stage. The statement included provisions on maintaining a rules-based free and open trade order and promoting the CPTPP, jointly responding to global trade environment changes and cooperating on supply chains, strengthening Korea-US-Japan cooperation and linking with the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) initiative, expanding collaboration in international forums such as APEC and OECD, cooperating on hydrogen energy and carbon reduction, jointly addressing common social issues such as low birth rates, aging populations, and climate change, promoting qualitative growth in tourism, revitalizing exchanges among future generations including youth and startups, and strengthening links in new industries such as disaster prevention and the content industry.

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