Chairman Choi Tae-won Meets with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba... Delivers 'Korea-Japan Economic Community' Initiative

[Financial News] Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, met with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on the 27th and conveyed the opinion that "in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic normalization this year, it is necessary to expand economic cooperation and close collaboration between Korea and Japan." Chairman Choi is the first Korean business leader to have an official meeting confirmed with Prime Minister Ishiba.
According to the Chamber of Commerce, Chairman Choi emphasized the need for economic cooperation between the two countries during a visit to Prime Minister Ishiba at the Prime Minister's residence in Tokyo, Japan, stating that "Korea and Japan are experiencing difficulties due to the spread of global protectionism, such as mutual tariffs by the United States." Chairman Choi is believed to have mentioned his usual theory of the 'Korea-Japan Economic Community Initiative' at this meeting. The core idea is to develop into an economic community close to a single market like the European Union (EU), beyond simple economic cooperation or trade liberalization. Chairman Choi also proposed the Korea-Japan Economic Community as the top priority during an economic leaders' meeting with Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party.
Chairman Choi asked Prime Minister Ishiba for the Japanese government's interest and support for the business activities of companies from both countries, and also requested the participation of prominent Japanese companies in the APEC CEO Summit, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in Gyeongju, Korea, this October. In attendance at this meeting were Chairman Choi, Park Il-jun, Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Lee Hyung-hee, Vice Chairman of the Seoul Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SK Supex Council Communication Committee Chairman), among others.
Chairman Choi also met with Kobayashi Ken, Chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, earlier in September 2022, becoming the first Korean business leader to meet with then Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. Meanwhile, Chairman Choi's visit to the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry was the first in about three years since 2022, and discussions were held on cooperation plans between the chambers of the two countries, including the 14th Korea-Japan Chamber of Commerce Presidents' Meeting, which will be held in Korea at the end of this year.
Meanwhile, in Korea, the '57th Korea-Japan Business Conference' was held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic normalization. Kim Yoon, head of the Korean delegation and Chairman of the Korea-Japan Economic Association (Chairman of Samyang Holdings), emphasized at the opening ceremony that "strengthening economic cooperation between Korea and Japan is not a choice but a necessity for survival," and Yutaka Aso, head of the Japanese delegation and Vice Chairman of the Japan-Korea Economic Association (Chairman of Aso Cement), also stated that "Korea-Japan cooperation will be further expanded." 
ehcho@fnnews.com Eunhyo Cho, Reporter