Partnership funds of Japan and South Korea to go to chips, energy

TOP business leaders from Japan and South Korea announced on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, that they will use a fund meant to underscore the two countries’ burgeoning ties to strengthen their cooperation in energy, industry and other sectors.

Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, and its South Korean counterpart, the Federation of Korean Industry, announced a fund of 200 million yen ($1.5 million) in March.

The money comes from an initial installment of 100 million yen ($750,000) from each side to complement efforts initiated by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government to resolve a historical dispute over Japanese brutality during its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

The two groups selected specific areas of joint projects for the Future Partnership funds, focusing on youth exchanges and industrial cooperation.

Areas of focus include semiconductor supply chain resiliency, energy security, maintaining the free and open international order, and climate change, among others.

In March, Yoon announced a local fund to compensate South Koreans who were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II. (AP)