Korean and Japanese business leaders join hands side by side at the 51st Korea-Japanese Business Conference at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul on Sept. 23. They included Chairman Kim Yoon of the Korea-Japanese Economic Association, concurrently chairman of Samyang Holdings, Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of Korea Employers Federation (KEF), and Chairman Miko Sasaki of the Japan-Korea Economic Association, concurrently adviser of Mitsubishi. (Photo: Samyang Holdings)

Korean and Japanese business leaders called for the Korean and Japanese governments to hold dialogue lest political and diplomatic issues be stumbling blocks for cooperation among companies of the two countries.

The Korean-Japanese rift was prompted by the Korean supreme court’s ruling in favor of compensation for a Korean individual who was forced to work for Japanese firms during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea.

Japan imposed export curbs in retaliation and delisted Korea from the “white list” of countries subject to eased customs shipping-clearance procedures when importing goods from Japan. Korea responded by removing Japan from its own white list.

The businessmen of the two countries issued a communiqué to that effect as they wrapped up a two-day Korea-Japan Business Conference at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul on Sept. 23. About 300 people from the business communities of the two countries got together for the meeting.

The meeting was the first since the Korea-Japan trade rift mounted in the wake of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s imposing of trade export curbs on Korea in July.

The participating businessmen shared the view that political and diplomatic ties need to be restored for the sake of development of Korean-Japanese economic ties.

The two sides agreed to promote cooperation among Korean and Japanese companies in third countries, cooperate in solving common tasks such as employment and manpower development, strengthen economic, manpower and cultural exchanges, and reinvigorate regional exchanges.

At a seminar held prior to the release of the communiqué, economic and diplomatic experts of both countries shared the view that companies of Korea and Japan should strengthen cooperation in the ASEAN region, including Vietnam.

A former senior researcher with Samsung Research Institute said if Korean manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics cooperate with Japanese raw materials, parts and equipment makers, it will be a win-win strategy for all involved. The two countries need to cooperate in new business projects such as smart city, he added.

Hidehiko Mukoyama, a senior economist at The Japan Research Institute, said Japan’s protracted export curbs would eventually endanger Japanese companies.

A Chinese plant, to be opened by Morita Chemical Industries this year, plans to deliver high-purity etching gas to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynics. If Korean companies boost self-sufficiency in raw materials, parts and equipment sectors, he said the chances are high that Japan’s exports will suffer long-term consequences.

Prof. Lee Soo-hoon of Kyungnam University’s Politics and Diplomacy Department, who served as Korean ambassador to Japan during President Moon Jae-in government, proposed that the Japanese government revoke export curbs on Korea and the Korean government review the termination of General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).

Japanese firms alleged that the Korean government has stirred up uncertainties. Chairman Domoyuki Moriyama of the Seoul Japan Club, a circle of 390 Japanese companies stationed in Korea, concurrently president of Mitsui & Co. Korea, said it was hard for him to understand how the Korean government cites the division between politics and economy concerning the seizure of Japanese firms’ assets. Korea’s boycotting of Japanese clothes, beer and tours to Japan would hit Korean employees working in the sectors, he said.

The 51st Korea-Japanese Business Conference was jointly hosted by the Korea-Japan Economic Association and the Japan-Korea Economic Association. Among about 200 people from the Korean side on hand at the conference were Chairman Kim Yoon of the Korea-Japanese Economic Association, concurrently chairman of Samyang Holdings, Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of Korea Employers Federation (KEF), Chairman Ryu Jin of Poongsan, Vice Chairman Lee Hwi-rung of SeA Steel, Chairman Cho Yong-byeong of Shinhan Financial Group, and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Yoo Boo-keun.

The participants from Japanese side were Chairman Miko Sasaki of the Japan-Korea Economic Association, concurrently adviser of Mitsubishi, Chairman Nobuyuki Koga of Nomura Holdings, Motoyuki Oka, special councilor of Smitomo Corp., and Chairman Masakazu Tokura of Smitomo Chemical.