Korea-Japan Economic Union?

[Anchor]

Now, let's take a look at the future of South Korea and Japan.

Recently, the concept of a 'Korea-Japan Economic Union' has been mentioned.

This is a discussion about creating an economic community similar to the European Union.

Reporter Park Chan analyzes the background and feasibility of this idea.

[Report]

Even on weekends, a dozen people are receiving job counseling for Japanese companies.

These are young people seeking employment opportunities in Japan, where finding workers is more challenging than finding jobs.

[Kim Se-jong/Job Seeker for Japan: "(In Korea), they want experienced newcomers, so it might be easier to gain that experience by working in Japan."]

Both South Korea and Japan currently require work visas, but this could change if they become an economic community.

In the European Union, member countries do not need separate qualifications such as work visas for public officials and other public sectors.

This artificial intelligence startup has received investment from a Japanese venture capital firm, and cross-investment in advanced fields like IT in Korea and MPE(Materials, Parts, and Equipment) in Japan could increase.

[Lee Se-young/CEO of AI Startup: "(Japanese investors) have expressed expectations that services created in Korea could be trendier and grow faster."]

Combining the two countries would make their GDP the fourth largest in the world.

The idea is to expand the shrinking consumer market due to aging and to jointly purchase oil, LNG, and other resources to buy them at lower prices.

[Chey Tae-won/Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry/Last May: "We are thinking of an economic community similar to the EU, rather than just simple cooperation."]

In 1952, France, a victim of World War II, created a coal and steel community with Germany, the aggressor.

It took 40 years to establish the European Union.

[Kim Hyun-cheol/Professor at Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies: "I believe it is very important to find areas where mutual cooperation is possible and to show a win-win relationship."]

The Korea-Japan FTA, which is much less ambitious than an economic union, has been in discussions since the first negotiations in 2003, but has only seen repeated discussions since then.

This is Park Chan from KBS News.