By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

Kim Dong-yeon, governor of Gyeonggi Province, met with Mizushima Koichi, Japanese Ambassador to Korea, at the provincial office on July 2 to discuss cooperation between the two countries in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan.

During the meeting, Governor Kim said, "Although Korea-Japan relations have gone through many ups and downs over the years, the two countries are still close neighbors. I am pleased that South Korea-Japan relations have developed into a very good relationship recently.“

He added, ”As Gyeonggi Province is the center of the economy and industry in South Korea, I hope to see more active expansion in all areas, including economic cooperation with Japan, human exchange, investment, and cultural exchange."

Ambassador Mizushima responded, "South Korea is a neighboring country that we must cooperate with as a partner in various challenges. I believe it is important to deepen exchanges at both the government level and the local government level. I hope that we can continue to strengthen our economic cooperation relationship in the future."

Gyeonggi Province has maintained a friendship agreement with Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan since 1990, signed a friendship cooperation agreement with Aichi Prefecture in 2015, and has been operating the Gyeonggi Business Center in Tokyo in the form of a digital office since 2023.