Chey Tae-won Urges Korea-Japan Economic Community to Help Counter Low Birthrates

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said a Korea-Japan economic community could provide a path to addressing low birthrates in both countries by linking their labor markets and regional economies, expanding jobs and income opportunities for young people, and using artificial intelligence to raise productivity.

Speaking in an opening address at the first Korea-Japan Symposium on Low Birthrate Measures in Sendai on Aug. 30, Chey said shrinking populations make it essential to expand the size of the market. South Korea and Japan need to deepen their ties to the level of an economic community, he said. Chey also serves as the Korean co-chair of the Korea-Japan Low Birthrate Countermeasures Exchange Committee.

He said low birthrates are undermining the growth potential of both economies while increasing social costs related to support and caregiving. Fewer children are being born and fewer people will be available to work, while the number of people needing support is likely to rise. Although the pace and conditions differ, both countries do not have much time left, he added.

Chey also noted that annual births in the two countries have fallen to about 1 million from about 2 million at the time of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. A child born this year will need 20 years to become a new face in the workforce, he said. Everyone set to enter the labor market over the next decade has already been born. That means population decline is no longer a distant concern but a reality already beginning to constrain companies and the economy.

Chey said the fundamental solution is to create conditions in which young people can choose marriage and childbirth without anxiety. Many are delaying or giving up on both because they lack stable jobs and income.

On the role of business, he said companies must create good jobs and build workplaces where employees can raise children while working. He added that countries also need to move quickly to adapt to demographic change that has already begun.

At the same time, he said low-birthrate policy should not be limited to measures aimed directly at lifting fertility. If South Korea and Japan form an economic community, expand the market and combine their strengths, they can lower costs and create stable income, he said.

Chey presented three priorities for youth policy through a Korea-Japan economic community: jobs, regional exchange and technology.

First, he proposed strengthening links between the two countries' labor markets so young people can work and study across both countries. That would require updating systems so people can find jobs in the other country and ensuring that qualifications and career experience earned in one country are recognized in the other.

"If the two countries join forces so young people can move back and forth between Korea and Japan for work, we can provide better jobs and more opportunities," Chey said. "Young people need to be able to broaden their horizons for income and opportunity."

Travel between the two countries topped 13 million last year, but exchanges cannot remain centered on tourism alone, he said. Ties that have grown closer through travel should expand across economic activity, including employment, education, and recognition of qualifications and work experience.

Second, he said exchanges should spread to regional areas in both countries. Japan has many places that are little known in South Korea, while South Korea also has destinations unfamiliar to Japanese visitors. Governments, the tourism industry and local communities should work out ways to expand regional exchange, he said.

Chey cited his earlier proposal for travel products that would allow visitors to tour regions in South Korea and Japan in a single trip. Exchange needs to extend to local areas and go beyond tourism, he said.

His third priority was boosting productivity through AI. As the labor force shrinks and demand for care and medical services rises, AI and robots should be used to reduce social costs and increase the value created by each young worker, he said.

"If we use care robots together with AI and update institutions to fit new technologies, we can reduce social costs while greatly increasing the value created by each young person," he said.

The symposium also released the results of the 2026 Korea-Japan Youth Perception Survey conducted by the two countries' committees. The findings showed that young South Koreans were more willing than their Japanese peers to pursue dating and marriage, but faced greater difficulty turning that intention into marriage and childbirth because of employment, income and housing burdens.

Among unmarried young people, 42.4% in Japan said they had no intention of ever marrying, more than double South Korea's 18.6%. South Koreans were also more likely to say they had a fiance, fiancee or romantic partner, at 32.2%, compared with 21.4% in Japan.

By contrast, 43.1% of South Korean respondents cited jobs and income as their biggest source of future anxiety, versus 32.5% in Japan. Young South Koreans called for concrete institutional support for marriage, including housing and childbirth and childcare assistance. The survey suggested South Korea faces a "crisis of realization," in which intentions to marry do not lead to actual marriage and childbirth, while Japan faces a "crisis of motivation," in which the desire to marry itself is weakening.

"The people who will enter the labor market in the future have already been born, but the value they create has not yet been determined," Chey said. "We need to start by helping young people work and learn across both countries, expanding exchanges into regional areas, and making sure technology eases the burden in workplaces." He added that he hopes the committee being launched will serve as the first step.

Man-su Choi, Sendai correspondent, Hankyung.com, bebop@hankyung.com