KCCI, Seoul Japan Club forms economic study group

South Korean and Japanese businesspeople form a study group to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) announced on Thursday that it will hold a meeting with the Seoul Japan Club at the KCCI Building in downtown Seoul, to run a study group on economic cooperation between Korea and Japan. 

The purpose of this is to identify the need for cooperation between the two economies, and to look for areas of cooperation in energy, batteries, semiconductors and other areas, according to the chamber.

Participants in the meeting included Woo Tae-hee, Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Park Seung-hee, CEO of Samsung Electronics, Lee Hyung-hee, Chairman of the SK Supex Communication Committee, Kim Dong-wook, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Company and Park Jun-sung, Executive Director of LG.

From the Seoul Japan Club (SJC), Kazuhiro Iguchi, CEO of Mitsui Korea and Chairman of SJC, Toshinobu Sato, CEO of Mitsubishi Korea and Vice Chairman of SJC and Taisuke Ohashi, CEO of Sumitomo Korea and Vice Chairman of SJC, attended the meeting.

The Seoul Japan Club is Korea's largest Japanese community, founded in 1997, with more than 1,600 corporate and individual members, offering policy recommendations and supporting exchanges between Korea and Japan.

Businesspeople from both countries who attended the meeting praised the Korea-Japan summit, which was held for the first time in 12 years, and agreed that private-sector economic cooperation should take a step further. In particular, they have agreed to actively participate in the Korea-Japan economic cooperation study group established by the chamber.

The study group aims to strengthen collaboration with various associations such as the Korea Battery Industry Association and the Semiconductor Industry Association in various fields, including energy, batteries and semiconductors, as well as venture investment and 6G, to achieve practical results.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also actively exploring the possibility of participation in the study group by identifying major Korean and Japanese companies with high technological capabilities in the relevant sectors.

"As Korea-Japan cooperation is facing a new turning point, it is time to upgrade bilateral economic cooperation to the next level," said Vice Chairman Woo. "We will make efforts to create exemplary cases of cooperation."

Write to Gyo-Beom Gu at gugyobeom@hankyung.com