South Korean business leaders meet Macron to deepen bilateral ties
South Korean business leaders met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Versailles, France, on Monday to explore opportunities for deepening bilateral economic cooperation, the Federation of Korean Industries said.
The meeting was held during the 'Choose France Summit,' President Macron's flagship initiative to attract foreign investment, at the Chateau de Versailles near Paris. Now in its eighth year, the summit brought together more than 100 global business leaders at Macron's invitation to discuss France's reindustrialization and opportunities for increased international investment.
According to the FKI, Korea was the only country granted an exclusive, country-to-country business roundtable with Macron during this year's summit.
The Korean delegation was led by Ryu Jin, chair of the FKI and CEO of the leading defense exporter Poongsan Group. It included senior executives from a broad range of industries: Sohn Kyung-shik, chair of CJ CheilJedang; Walter Cho, chair of Korean Air and Hanjin Group; Chang Jae-hoon, vice chair of Hyundai Motor Company; Hur Jin-soo, president of SPC Group and Oh Jung-kang, CEO of Enchem.
President Macron was joined by senior French government officials and business leaders, including Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Air Liquide CEO Francois Jackow, BNP Paribas Chair Jean Lemierre and Wouter van Wersch, executive vice president international at Airbus.
'It is encouraging to see trade between Korea and France continuing to grow ahead of next year's 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations,' said Ryu. 'I hope today's meeting will serve as a springboard for deeper cooperation in promising fields, such as artificial intelligence and decarbonization.'
To build on the discussions, Ryu invited President Macron to visit Korea next year for the anniversary celebration.
Following the roundtable, business leaders from both countries held one-on-one meetings with government officials to explore partnership opportunities in sectors including decarbonization and defense.
The FKI delegation will continue its engagement the following day by hosting the "Korea-France Business Dialogue for the Future," focused on expanding collaboration in areas such as aerospace, mobility and startups.
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