KCCI, JCCI hold a working level meeting in six years

Business representatives from South Korea and Japan gathered for the first time in six years, with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) announcing on Monday that it had held a working-level meeting with a delegation from the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).

The two sides agreed to expand cooperation between their private economic sectors, focusing on responding to global supply chain restructuring, carbon neutrality and youth employment.

They will establish future-oriented private economic cooperation based on restored shuttle diplomacy. Shuttle diplomacy between South Korea and Japan resumed after 12 years, following a summit between President Yoon Suk yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last month.

The plan is to broaden cooperation beyond the existing division of labor in the manufacturing industry and jointly respond to global supply chain restructuring, including in areas such as semiconductors and batteries. The chambers of commerce also plan to expand cooperation to include carbon neutrality and ways to enhance private exchanges, such as youth employment.

The delegations discussed the possibility of holding a chairman-level meeting between KCCI and JCCI, which has been held annually since its first meeting in 2001. The council rotates between the two countries and allows business leaders to discuss economic cooperation and private exchanges. If held this year, it will be the first meeting in six years.

KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won attended this meeting. "I hope that Korean and Japanese companies will cooperate in several areas," he said. "It would be good to connect the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo and the 2030 Busan Expo with platforms."

Write to Sungsu Bae at baebae@hankyung.com