With Canadian Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Minister Mary Ng leading a large-scale trade mission to Korea, high-level business leaders from both countries have come together to call for expanding cooperation in not only traditional industries such as energy but in cutting-edge fields such as AI as well.

   The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), together with the Business Council of Canada (BCC), hosted the 2nd Korea-Canada CEO Dialogue on Tuesday, April 23, at the FKI Tower Conference Center. The event brought together government officials from both countries, including Canada's Minister of International Trade Mary Ng and Korea’s Deputy Minister for Trade Byung-Nae Yang, and high-level business executives (15 from each country) to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between the Korean and Canadian business communities.

   In his opening remarks, Chang-beom Kim, vice chairman of the FKI, said, "Uncertainty in the international order has increased recently, and cooperation between countries that share the values of a free market economy and democracy is urgently needed." "Korea and Canada have a common need to diversify their economic dependence on certain economic regions and find new growth engines," he said. "I look forward to our two nations’ companies taking the lead in collaborating in cutting-edge industries such as digital and AI, beyond traditional areas of collaboration such as the energy sector and minerals." 

   "Korea is Canada's largest trading partner in the Indo-Pacific region, which has been a focus of Canada's recent efforts," said BCC President Goldy Hyder in his subsequent opening remarks, adding, "Rather than resting on our laurels, we need to make new efforts, and I hope that the public and private sectors will work together to support each other's strategic interests to pursue prosperity and security for both countries."

  "We look forward to seeing Korean and Canadian entrepreneurs create business opportunities in not only industries such as energy and minerals, but innovative industries such as digital and AI," said Byung-nae Yang, Deputy Minister for Trade, who delivered a keynote speech at the event. "The Korean government will work to create a supportive environment for Canadian companies to invest heavily in Korea by fostering a liberal trade and investment environment, improving regulations, and offering generous tax credits." 

  "Korea is the only country in the Indo-Pacific that has a free trade agreement with Canada," said Mary Ng, Canada's Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development. "As today's event demonstrates, business and the private sector must be in the driver's seat of bilateral cooperation, and the Canadian government is committed to doing all it can to help not hinder cooperation," she said, emphasizing the importance of private sector collaboration and the Canadian government's will to support.

  The first session of the CEO Dialogue, on Economic Security, discussed cooperation on defense and energy between the two countries. Participants Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shared the current state of cooperation between Korea and Canada in the submarine business and requested active support from the two governments. POSCO Future M also talked about its investment project in Quebec, which is being carried out with incentives from the Canadian government and hoped that there will be similar success stories of bilateral cooperation in the future.

 

  The session 2 topic of Digital and AI, which will become a new cooperation agenda beyond traditional cooperation fields, was also intensively discussed. "Canada has been leading in the field of AI, but in the future, it will have to respond to the onslaught of global big tech companies," said Han Sung Kang, a partner at DLG, a law firm specializing in AI, in his presentation and emphasized that Korean companies are the best partners for this challenge. "We look forward to the two governments working together to promote a future-oriented AI industry with a common understanding of the need to protect human rights, and to jointly lead the global standard for AI regulation in the future."

  In the discussion that followed, NAVER and LG shared their respective joint AI research projects with the University of Toronto, Canada, and discussed the present and future of AI cooperation between the two countries. 

  Commenting on the event, Bong-man Kim, Vice President of the International Network Department at the FKI, said, "There are an increasing number of issues that the international community needs to resolve together, such as the escalating situation in the Middle East and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war." "I hope that Korean and Canadian businesspeople can contribute to rebuilding and strengthening the global cooperation system through cooperation in the B7, OECD, and other international forums." 

  The CEO Dialogue was attended by Korean companies such as Hyundai Motor Group, LG, Hanwha, and Naver, as well as leading Canadian companies from industries ranging from energy to AI, including Air Canada, Alta Gas, Blackberry, and Atkins Realis. The networking luncheon that followed was attended by an additional 100 guests from Canada's trade mission to Korea.