Korea, Japan to hold finance ministers' meeting

By Yoon Ja-young

Choi Kyung-hwan, Finance minister

Korea and Japan will hold a finance ministers’ meeting this Saturday, for the first time in more than two-and-a-half years.

Deputy Prime Minister and Strategy and Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan left for Tokyo, Thursday, to meet with Aso Taro, Japan’s deputy prime minister and finance minister.

It is meaningful because Choi is the first high-level official to visit Japan since the inauguration of President Park Geun-hye. The relationship between two countries has been uneasy due to the Abe administration’s distortion and denial of historical facts.

At the meeting, the two ministers will share views on the global economy and pending issues between the two countries, on top of discussing ways to boost economic cooperation.

Officials of the two countries will also meet, discussing policies in diverse sectors such as the macro-economy, budget and fiscal policies, taxation, and international finance.

The ministry said that the two parties will introduce diverse policies regarding structural reform and new growth engines. They will also discuss more active coordination at the G20 and ASEAN+3, comprising ASEAN member countries plus Korea, China and Japan.

After the meeting, they will issue a joint statement.

Choi will also visit the production and R&D centers of Toray, a chemical company which has been massively investing in Korea.