Economic Shifts Following the Normalization of Korea–Japan Relations

This paper analyzed the transformed economic relationship between Japan and Korea by comparing the periods following the export restrictions in 2019 and the improvement in relations in 2023. As Japan–Korea relations have improved, the cooperation agenda has expanded to include new areas such as supply chains, scientific and technological cooperation, and multilateral collaboration within the trilateral framework of the U.S.–Japan–Korea alliance. However, in the current era of economic security, numerous instances of both cooperation and competition between Japanese and Korean corporate have been observed. Coordinating cooperation agenda within multilateral frameworks such as the IPEF and CPTPP remains challenging due to domestic and international political dynamics. The economic relationship between two countries has developed in a complex and multilayered manner, characterized by both cooperation and competition, and is now situated within a new environment of U.S.–Japan–Korea security cooperation and emerging trade issues.