Leading business groups of South Korea and Japan have agreed to launch a steering committee and an advisory committee to review a joint project dubbed the "future partnership fund."

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Japan Business Federation, also known as Keidanren, made the announcement in a joint press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.

The steering committee will be co-chaired by acting FKI chief Kim Byong-joon and Keidanren chair Masakazu Tokura. The advisory committee will be led by two professors each from Korea University and Japan's Waseda University. 

Through the partnership fund, the two federations seek to promote youth exchanges, including university and internship exchanges, as well as boost industrial cooperation in areas such as supply chains, energy security and green and digital transition.

Each side will invest a starting fund of one billion won and once the project takes off and expands, they will solicit the participation of businesses from both countries.

The bilateral project was first unveiled after South Korea announced in March a controversial plan to compensate Korean forced labor victims without involving liable Japanese firms, and promoted as another sign of improving and future-oriented Seoul-Tokyo ties. 

Keidanren said Japanese companies accused of wartime forced labor will be given the choice over whether to take part in the project or not. 

The FKI and Keidanren plan to host an industry cooperation forum in Seoul in July, which will also serve to expedite talks on the partnership fund project.