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| Ryu Jin, head of the Federation of Korean Industries, speaks during a press conference in Seoul after taking office as the 39th chief of the nation's key business lobby group, Aug. 22. Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
One of Korea's leading business lobby groups has offered to create a trilateral consultative group with its counterparts in the United States and Japan, as part of joint efforts to strengthen supply-side partnerships in key components such as semiconductors and batteries.
The offer, made by the new Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) head Ryu Jin through letters to counterparts, came in reaction to a recent summit among leaders of the three countries, according to the lobby group, Wednesday. The leaders pledged to reinforce their commitment to a comprehensive economic partnership during the recent Camp David summit last month.
In a letter sent to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ryu underscored the importance of free trade and a market-driven economy.
"As both organizations share a common belief, we will make joint efforts to restore open trade in the global economy," Ryu said in the letter.
In a letter to the Japan Business Federation, Ryu also stressed the need to keep promoting joint business projects for more future-oriented bilateral relations with Japan.
The FKI said the establishment of the consultative group would help institutionalize trilateral economic cooperation and expand the scope of partnerships not only for core components but also for emerging state-of-the-art tech areas such as artificial intelligence.
"Under the perception that economic cooperation is a must, the Korea-led trilateral partnership will help set the global standard of cutting-edge technologies, stabilize the supply chain of key components and materials and widen ties into high-tech industrial areas," the FKI said.
Ryu sent letters to some 40-partner organizations across the globe and shared his unwavering pledge to enhance the role of Korean businesses here and abroad. He took office as the 39th leader of the business lobby on Aug. 22.
According to the FKI, its overseas counterparts have also delivered replies to his letter. They include Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming.
The FKI holds economic cooperation committee meetings each year with major economies across the globe, such as the U.S., Japan and China, seeking to develop more agendas for cooperation to promote exchanges among businesspeople.
"The FKI will continue to bolster its efforts to represent the stance of Korean businesses to the international community following the inauguration of Ryu," the lobby group said.
Ryu has led Poongsan Group, which manufactures metal products and defense equipment, since 1999.
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