Chey Tae-won says 'Korea-Japan economic community' could solve low birth rate

First Korea-Japan Low Birth Rate Response Exchange Committee held in Japan

Chey says youth are giving up on marriage and children due to high social costs

Calls for building Korea-Japan economic community to reduce those costs

Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, delivers an opening address at the Korea-Japan Low Birth Rate Response Exchange Committee held at the Western Hotel in Sendai, Japan, on Sunday. [Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry]

Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has proposed building economies of scale through Korea-Japan economic cooperation as a solution to the low birth rate problem.

Speaking at the opening of the Korea-Japan Low Birth Rate Response Exchange Committee at the Western Hotel in Sendai, Japan, on Sunday, Chey laid out his vision for deeper bilateral economic integration. The committee was formed out of a shared recognition in business circles that private-sector exchanges were needed following last year's Korea-Japan summit. The event was attended by Chey, who serves as the Korean co-chair, and Ken Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Japanese co-chair, along with political and business figures from both countries.

"The low birth rate is lowering our growth potential and continuously driving up social costs," Chey said. "When you ask young people why this problem exists and why it cannot be solved, the most common answer is that they cannot secure stable employment and income."

Chey put forward the idea of a "Korea-Japan economic community" as one solution to the low birth rate. "We need to create a larger market, which means we need to integrate the two economies in a more community-oriented way," he said. "Korea and Japan have lived under completely separate economic systems, but once they are combined, there are quite a few factors and discussions that could actually reduce costs."

He went on to identify three paths to addressing the youth problem: fostering quality jobs, expanding Korea-Japan regional cooperation, and supporting productivity gains through AI and other technologies.

He also stressed that while the people who will enter the workforce in the future have already been born, the value they will create has yet to be determined. "What the two countries can do together starts with allowing young people today to work and learn across both countries, expanding that flow to the regions, and letting technology ease the burden on the ground," he said.

A view of the Korea-Japan Low Birth Rate Response Exchange Committee held at the Western Hotel in Sendai, Japan, on Sunday. [Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry]

The committee also released the results of a survey on youth attitudes conducted in June and July among 6,000 young people aged 20 to 39 in Korea and Japan. Asked what conditions would allow them to have and raise children with peace of mind, the largest share of both Korean respondents (56.0 percent) and Japanese respondents (46.7 percent) cited easing financial burdens.

In a panel discussion that followed, Cho Young-tae, director of the Population Policy Research Center at Seoul National University, said 54.4 percent of newborns in Korea last year were born in the greater Seoul area. "It is a common ecological fact, applicable to humans as well, that when population concentration becomes excessive, the survival instinct overtakes the reproductive instinct," he said. "If Korea-Japan cooperation can help Korean youth find opportunities in Japan, it could reduce the psychological burden of competition."

The committee plans to conduct joint Korea-Japan research and surveys and hold an annual symposium alternating between the two countries, keeping private-sector cooperation running as a standing channel. The second meeting is scheduled to be held in Korea next year.

klee@heraldcorp.com