Korea, Japan open regional industry talks in Daegu on advanced materials, AI and robots

The industry ministry said Friday it had held the 22nd Korea-Japan economic exchange meeting in Daegu with the Chubu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, with the two sides discussing ways to expand cooperation in advanced materials, artificial intelligence and robotics.

About 150 people attended the meeting, which was jointly organized by the Korea-Japan Economic Association, the Hokuriku Economic Federation and the Hokuriku AJEC, drawing officials from both governments along with local authorities, business groups, companies and research institutes.

Bae Jun-hyung, director-general for trade cooperation at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said cooperation between local governments and regional companies in the two countries is important for broader and more sustained economic ties. "We will actively support this meeting so that it can connect the strengths of the two countries' regional industries and create new growth opportunities in future-industry fields," he said.

The gathering has run since 2000, apart from a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, linking Daegu, Ulsan, Gangwon and North Gyeongsang Province in Korea with Japan's three Hokuriku prefectures of Toyama, Ishikawa and Fukui in trade, investment and industrial technology.

On advanced materials, the Gyeongbuk Technopark, Japan's Tsuda Komakogyo and the Innovative Composite Materials Research and Development Center at Kanazawa Institute of Technology shared work on carbon-fiber composite technology and explored joint research and technical exchange. In AI and robotics, Tilon presented a case of AI-based workplace innovation and I.M Robotics introduced a smart factory built on autonomous mobile robots.

The two sides also compared policy approaches: Korea outlined its programs to foster the AI and robotics industries, help small and medium-sized companies expand overseas and respond to regional decline, while Japan presented its industrial cluster and wellbeing policies.