Top executives gather in Tokyo for third Korea-U.S.-Japan Economic Dialogue this week

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, center, delivers opening remarks at the second Trilateral Executive Dialogue among Korea, the United States and Japan at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Sept. 4, 2024. [HYUNDAI MOTOR GROUP]

 
Top executives from Korea’s major conglomerates will attend the third Korea-U.S.-Japan Economic Dialogue in Tokyo this week, seeking ways to strengthen cooperation and navigate shared economic and geopolitical challenges.
 
According to industry sources on Monday, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon will participate in the two-day forum, which runs from Oct. 14 to 15 at the Keidanren Kaikan in Tokyo. Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong is also reportedly likely to attend.
 
 
The trilateral dialogue, first held in San Francisco in 2023 and in Seoul last year, brings together political and business leaders from the three democracies to discuss collaboration on economic growth, supply chain resilience and national security. Hyundai Motor served as a key sponsor of last year’s event.
 
Chung, attending for the second consecutive year, is expected to meet with U.S. lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, both of whom attended previous sessions.
 
Hyosung’s Cho is expected to discuss cooperation on expanding power transmission networks between Korea and the United States in response to surging electricity demand from AI data center growth.
 
Samsung’s Lee, who did not attend last year’s dialogue, is expected to join this year’s meeting. Lee has maintained close ties with Japanese companies, hosting the “LJF” or “Leading Japanese Firms” networking event at Samsung’s Seungjiwon guesthouse in 2023.
 
Other Korean participants include Jung In-sub, head of Hanwha Ocean, and Shin Hak-cheol, vice chairman and CEO of LG Chem. From the Korea Enterprises Federation, Kim Chang-beom, vice chairman, will represent Korea’s business community.
 
Around 100 leaders from government, business and academia are expected to join this year’s dialogue. The U.S. delegation will include Sen. Hagerty, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Joseph M. Young, Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker and executives from Qualcomm and FedEx. Japan’s lineup includes representatives from SoftBank Group, Toyota, Sony Group, NEC and NTT. 
 
An insider told the JoongAng Ilbo that “the U.S. administration’s tariff strategy is an important variable that affects all three economies.” 

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM SU-MIN [[email protected]]