Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, again stressed the need for a Korea-Japan economic community. He has argued that going beyond close cooperation with Japan to achieve economic integration on the level of the European Union (EU) is necessary to compete on equal footing with countries around the world, including China.
On the 8th, in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun, Chey said, "If Korea and Japan unite as one, they can form an economic bloc of about $6 trillion, the world's fourth largest," adding, "Through this, the two countries can secure stronger bargaining power and a louder voice."
He also said the Korea-Japan economic community has several advantages on the expense side. He said, "Both countries face heavy expense burdens from low birthrates and aging populations," adding, "It would be good to consolidate each other's markets and jointly use key infrastructure and services to lower base expenses and foster new industries and services."
Energy was cited as the most important task in advancing an economic community. Chey said, "If the two countries jointly design everything from energy procurement to stockpiling and use, and can reduce expenses by even 3–5%, the effect would be very large," adding, "We also need to consider connecting transmission lines that can share electricity in the future or gas pipelines."
In the interview that day, Chey also stressed that Korea and Japan should achieve EU-level integration. He said, "Like the EU's Schengen Agreement, people should be able to move freely." The Schengen Agreement is a system that exempts border-crossing procedures such as passport checks when crossing borders among EU member states, guaranteeing the free movement of people and goods.
He also said he is exploring various avenues of cooperation with Japan in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence (AI) business. He said, "At the SK Group level, we are continuously discussing with many Japanese partners how to proceed with related investments and frameworks." He cited NTT and Tokyo Electron as specific partner corporations.
Chey emphasized that, unlike in the past, it is encouraging that younger generations in the two countries have grown more favorable toward each other. He said, "There used to be political antipathy on both sides, but now, especially among younger generations, there is mutual goodwill."
He also touched on relations with China, indicating a view that Korea should cooperate more closely with Japan. He said, "I want to emphasize that Korea should be closer to Japan than to China," adding, "If a framework is created in which Korea and Japan can generate synergy, it would actually be advantageous in building relations with China, promote growth, and lower expenses."