Key facts
- About 500 participants from South Korea and Japan were expected at the Yonhap Future Economic Forum in Seoul, Yonhap said.
- Yonhap President and CEO Hwang Dae-il was set to open the forum with remarks, the agency said.
- Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public communication, was to read a congratulatory message from President Lee Jae Myung.
- Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and SK Group, was to deliver congratulatory remarks on an economic community between the two countries.
- The forum had three sessions covering U.S.-China rivalry, a South Korea-Japan economic community and shared challenges of population aging.
- Japan's Kyodo News sponsored the forum, which also drew chairmen of Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup financial groups.
Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's key newswire, was set to host its Future Economic Forum in Seoul on November 3, under the theme "A fragmenting global economy, connecting South Korea and Japan through one market." The agency said around 500 participants from the two countries, including political, business and academic leaders, were expected.
The agenda covered deepening bilateral cooperation amid protectionism, Sino-U.S. rivalry and supply chain disruptions. Yonhap President and CEO Hwang Dae-il was to open the event with remarks, and Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public communication, was to read a congratulatory message from President Lee Jae Myung.
Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and SK Group, was to deliver congratulatory remarks on what the agency described as an economic community between the two countries. Other speakers listed included Rep. Lee Jae-jung, Rep. Joo Ho-young of the People Power Party, Ryota Takeda of the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union, Japanese ambassador to South Korea Koichi Mizushima and Koo Ja-yeol of the Korea-Japan Economic Association.
The first session, "From rivals to partners: South Korea and Japan amid U.S.-China hegemony," was to feature Yoon Young-kwan, a former South Korean foreign minister and chairman of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, and Lee Sang-yup, chief technology officer of LG Uplus. The second session on a South Korea-Japan economic community was to feature Lee Se-young of Wrtn Technologies and Hiroaki Ishiguro of Lotte Holdings, plus Japan expert Yang Gi-ho. The final session was to feature Seigakuin University professor Ikumi Haruki on population aging and tenor Lim Hyung-joo on cultural and content industry cooperation.
Yonhap tied the forum to recent bilateral steps. In March, the two countries signed a supply chain partnership arrangement and agreed to a regular policy dialogue on trade, economic security and supply chain issues. At a summit in May, Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed to further strengthen cooperation on supply chains and energy security, including critical minerals, crude oil and LNG.