Chey Tae-won: "Let young people in Korea and Japan move between the two countries for jobs, and let us mutually recognize careers and qualifications"

[Financial News, Sendai = Correspondent Seo Hye-jin] Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and chairman of SK Group, proposed on the 30th that young people in Korea and Japan should be able to move between the two countries for jobs, and that careers and qualifications earned in one country should also be recognized in the other. The idea is to link the Korean and Japanese labor markets in order to ease the employment and income insecurity among young people that is seen as a root cause of low birthrates.
In his opening remarks at the 1st Korea-Japan Symposium on Low Fertility Countermeasures, held that day at The Westin Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, Chey said, "If the two countries join forces to allow young people to work back and forth between Korea and Japan, we can create better jobs and more opportunities."
He added, "We need to make it possible to use the careers and qualifications earned in one country in the other as well," and stressed, "Through this, young people should be able to broaden their horizons for income and opportunity."
He explained that tourism exchanges between the two countries have expanded rapidly, with the number of cross-border travelers surpassing 13 million last year, but that the scope of exchange now needs to expand to youth employment, education, and career development. Chey said, "Tourism has brought the two countries closer, but tourism alone is not enough," adding, "We need to further expand opportunities to work and learn by moving between the two countries."
Chey identified unstable employment and income among young people as the key cause of the low birthrate problem. He said, "The biggest reason young people do not choose marriage and childbirth is that they do not have stable jobs and income," adding, "As a result, they delay marriage and childbirth or give them up altogether."
He also emphasized the role of companies. Chey said, "The role of businesses is clear," and added, "They must create good jobs and build workplaces where people can raise children while working." His point was that companies should go beyond direct support such as childbirth incentives and instead create jobs and work environments that allow young people to plan their lives over the long term.
As measures for Korea-Japan cooperation for young people, he proposed three steps: expanding job and education opportunities between the two countries, revitalizing regional exchanges, and improving productivity through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
First, he suggested broadening Korea-Japan exchanges beyond the capital region and major cities to local areas, so that young people can gain new jobs and business opportunities. Chey pointed out that Japan has many regions that are not well known in Korea, and Korea also has many areas unfamiliar to Japanese people.
Citing tourism products that combine several regions in Korea and Japan into a single travel itinerary, he said, "We need to flesh out new ways to activate exchanges between regions, beyond just the governments and tourism industries of the two countries."
He also called for the use of AI and care robots to address labor shortages and welfare burdens caused by population decline. Chey explained, "The number of people available to work is shrinking, while the number of people who need care and medical support keeps rising," adding, "AI can be a tool that helps ease these burdens."
He continued, "If we use care robots and AI, and update our systems to match new technologies, we can reduce social costs while greatly increasing the value created by each young person."
Chey stressed that the number of people who will enter the labor market in the future is already fixed, but the productivity and added value they create can still change depending on how well society prepares now.
He said, "The people who will enter the labor market in the future have already been born, but the value they will create has not yet been decided," adding, "We need to start by helping young people work and learn across the two countries, expanding exchanges into the regions, and using technology to ease the burden on the front lines."
Meanwhile, the symposium held that day was the first official event of the Korea-Japan Low Birthrate Countermeasures Exchange Committee, which was launched by business leaders and experts from both countries to jointly respond to low birthrates and population decline. Chey and Kobayashi Ken, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), serve as co-chairs for the two countries.
[email protected] Seo Hye-jin Reporter