Taewon Choi “Preparing a ‘Big Tent’ platform to gather capabilities to promote Korea-Japan economic solidarity”

Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Choi Jong-hyun Academy of Sciences (Chairman of SK Group), announced that he is preparing a 'Big Tent' type permanent cooperation platform to continue promoting Korea-Japan economic solidarity.

According to the Choi Jong-hyun Academy of Sciences on the 13th, Chairman Choi said this through a video keynote speech at the 'Korea-Japan Economic Solidarity Roadmap Initiative Conference' jointly held on the 12th by the Choi Jong-hyun Academy and the East Asia Institute at the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies Conference Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

He proposed to specify step-by-step the level of economic cooperation to be achieved three years from now, the industries that will produce joint results five years from now and the institutional barriers that need to be alleviated, and the shape of economic solidarity that will enable companies and citizens to experience tangible benefits 10 years from now.

The idea is to develop the vision into a concrete implementation strategy by expanding cooperation in feasible areas, such as discovering opportunities for cooperation by industry and lowering barriers that restrict the movement of manpower and capital.

At the same time, he emphasized the need to unite the capabilities of cooperative entities to implement the vision of Korea-Japan economic solidarity, saying, “If the roadmap presents a path for us to move forward, the platform will be the foundation for gathering strength to walk that path together.”

Experts in the fields of diplomacy, security, economy, and industry from both countries attended this event, which was jointly attended by the Society of Modern Japanese Studies and Japan's Nakasone Peace Institute (NPI).

The researchers presented three major cooperation axes: ▲ 'Solidarity of Survival' centered on economic security and supply chain cooperation, ▲ 'Solidarity of Innovation' for advanced technology and industrial innovation, and ▲ 'Solidarity of Attraction' through cultural and human exchanges.

Professor Son Yeol of Yonsei University diagnosed that both countries are facing structural challenges such as a relative decline in economic status and population decline, and viewed the next 10 years as a 'critical period' that will determine the direction of economic solidarity.

At the same time, he proposed an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)-type approach as a model for Korea-Japan economic solidarity, arguing that individual cooperation should be accumulated step by step and sector-specific systems should be connected through a roadmap spanning about 20 years from this year to 2045.