SK Group and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida / Korea Times files

By Park Jae-hyuk

SK Group and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Chey Tae-won became the only Korean business leader to have met with incumbent Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, according to industry officials, Friday.

Chey and Kishida reportedly discussed ways to boost bilateral economic cooperation, during their meeting on Thursday evening on the sidelines of Asia Business Council's forum in Tokyo. Kishida delivered a keynote speech at the event for the CEOs of Asian companies to promote friendship.

The SK chairman is said to have initially sought to have an exclusive meeting with the Japanese prime minister at his residence, but the Japanese government reportedly refused the proposal, citing unsolved diplomatic friction with the Korean government.

As the head of the civilian committee to support Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030, Chey also seems to have asked the Japanese government to vote for Busan and share how it succeeded in being selected as the host for the World Expo 2025 in Osaka.

In May, the chairman asked Japanese lawmakers to support Busan during a luncheon with them in Seoul. He also met with leaders of Japan's business lobby groups the following month.

Chey will depart for the U.S. on Saturday to preside over SK Group's event in Washington, D.C., next Tuesday and to inspect the conglomerate's operations there. He will also ask political and business leaders in the U.S. to support Busan's World Expo bid.

In July, he participated in a teleconference with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House and announced his company's plan to invest an additional $22 billion in the world's largest economy. Biden expressed his gratitude to SK Group at that time, calling the chairman by his English name, "Tony," in a friendly gesture.