Chey Tae-won, the Korea chamber of commerce and industry chairman, speaks during the 13th meeting of the business chamber leaderships of Korea and Japan held in Osaka, Nov.25. Yonhap

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), a major Korean business lobby, on Monday held a meeting with its Japanese counterpart and agreed to strengthen ties in areas of energy, supply chains and advanced technologies.

According to the KCCI, the 13th meeting of the business chamber leaderships of Korea and Japan was held in Osaka in collaboration with the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). Their last meeting took place in Busan, Korea, in June 2023.

The Korean side was led by KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won and HS Hyosung Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang among others, while the Japanese side was led by JCCI Chairman Ken Kobayashi and Shingo Torii, vice chairman of Suntory Holdings.

In his opening remarks, Chey emphasized the growing importance of Korea-Japan relations and their strengthened economic partnership, urging continued support to maintain the momentum of cooperation between the two chambers.

He added, "The business chambers from both countries should take the lead, alongside key economic organizations, in organizing forums where economic leaders from Korea and Japan can gather."

Discussions focused on identifying promising areas for private sector-led economic cooperation, including energy, supply chains and advanced technologies, as well as exploring cooperation models between local chambers.

At the meeting, Cho highlighted the growing importance of cooperation due to external geopolitical uncertainties and growth limits in their domestic economies. He also stressed the importance of joint investments in overseas hydrogen production facilities for the establishment of a global hydrogen supply chain, according to the KCCI. (Yonhap)