Biz leaders of Korea, France discuss energy, tech cooperation in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron, second from left, helps SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, walking on crutches due to a leg injury, after the meeting with a group of top Korean business tycoons at the Elysee Palace in Paris on June 21, in this photo provided by KCCI. Yonhap
Business leaders of Korea and France have discussed efforts to deepen industrial cooperation, with a focus on energy and technologies, a Korean business lobby said Thursday.
Some 30 top businesspeople from the two countries gathered at a roundtable in Paris on Wednesday (local time) co-hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and MEDEF International, a major French business federation, according to the KCCI.
The business roundtable took place as the chiefs of major Korean conglomerates, including Samsung, SK and Hyundai, were in France this week accompanying President Yoon Suk Yeol on his trip to the European country.
Attending the roundtable were top executives of those enterprises: Samsung Electronics President Park Seung-hee, LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan, and POSCO International Vice Chairman and CEO Jeong Tak, among others.
The KCCI and MEDEF International agreed to form a partnership to work as a channel that helps businesses of the two countries expand their presence in each other's markets.
Later in the day, the chiefs of Korean chaebols, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, met with French President Emmanuel Macron at Elysee Palace, the KCCI said.
Macron explained to the businesspeople various strategic projects France is pushing for as future growth drivers, and asked for South Korean businesses' attention to and participation in its plans, according to the KCCI.
On Tuesday, the business tycoons attended the general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international body in charge of overseeing the World Expo, as part of their campaign to promote Seoul's bid to host the event in 2023 in the southern port city of Busan.
This week's BIE general assembly is considered the final round of the competition before the BIE announces the winner in November.
Korea is competing against Italy and Saudi Arabia. (Yonhap)