President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Office of the President in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District on Nov. 4.
President Steinmeier arrived for an official three-day trip in Korea on Nov. 3 as the first European leader to visit since the launch of the Yoon administration on May 10.
In an opening statement before the summit, President Yoon said, "Korea and Germany have maintained a special relationship by sharing their experience of success in overcoming the ruins of war to achieve incredible economic development as well as share the pain of national division."
"We hope to discuss boosting bilateral cooperation in fields such as national security, economy, science and technology, and culture and joint responses to global challenges facing both countries such as climate change and health."
"I praise Germany for being a key member of the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization and for playing a leading role in solving global issues as chair country of the G7 (Group of 7)," he added. "As a country that also pursue the values of freedom, human rights and rule of law, we wish to strengthen solidarity with an ally that shares those same values."
President Steinmeier said in his opening statement, "This is already my fourth time visiting Korea," adding, "In 2018, I came to Korea once and at the time, the entire country was filled with immense joy."
"That year was full of joy as Korea hosted the (PyeongChang) Winter Olympics, a huge event for the entire world."
Saying the bilateral summit began with a silent prayer to remember the deceased in the Itaewon incident, President Steinmeier said, "I express my deep condolences to President Yoon personally and the same in the name of the German people."
At a joint news conference after their summit, President Yoon said, "Korea and Germany are key economic partners," adding, "While healthy trade and investment continue between both sides, bilateral economic cooperation is now expanding to future industries such as hydrogen and digitalization."
"German companies in advanced technologies such as semiconductors are raising investment in Korea."
"As the two sides both recognized that insecurity in the global supply chain can negatively affect the world economy, we agreed to improve economic security to establish stable supply chains and strengthen energy security," President Yoon said.
