CONTRIBUTION Powering next chapter of Korea-Germany cooperation

Ask any business leader what keeps them awake today, and the list is getting longer: energy costs, geopolitical risk, supply chain disruptions, artificial intelligence (AI), skilled labor and the question of where to invest next. For Korea and Germany, these challenges are particularly familiar. Our economies may be geographically distant, but they are built on similar foundations: manufacturing, exports, technology and globally connected supply chains. That is why our partnership matters more today than it did in easier times.

Korea’s recent export performance makes the point. In just over eight months this year, exports reached $709.4 billion, surpassing the record set for the whole of 2025, driven largely by extraordinary global demand for semiconductors and AI infrastructure.

Germany, too, is showing signs of renewed momentum, even as challenges remain, from high energy costs and global competition to the need to accelerate investment and innovation.

Korea and Germany are therefore not simply two export economies facing similar pressures. We are two industrial economies with considerable strengths of our own — and much to gain by combining them. The question is where those strengths complement each other and what we can build together.

Yesterday, business and government leaders from both countries gathered in Seoul for the 5th Korean-German Business Forum on Renewable Energy. The discussion offered a practical example of that complementarity. Germany brings decades of experience in renewable energy deployment, from project development and certification to grid integration and supply chains. Korea brings world-class manufacturing, engineering, advanced batteries and digital technologies. The objective is not for Korea to follow the German model. Energy transitions are shaped by each country’s circumstances. The opportunity is to take what we have each learned and put those strengths to work together.

For industrial economies such as ours, energy is ultimately a competitiveness issue. Semiconductor fabs, chemical plants and advanced manufacturing facilities need reliable energy at competitive prices. Increasingly, they also need access to cleaner energy to meet the expectations of customers, investors and global supply chains.

Energy policy, in other words, is also industrial policy. Through the Korean-German Energy Partnership, for which Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) has served as secretariat since 2021, we have seen the value of connecting government dialogue with the practical experience of companies operating in both markets.

But this conversation is about much more than energy.

Next month, Seoul will host the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK 2026) from Oct. 29 to 31. More than 800 senior leaders from business, government and academia from Germany and across the Asia-Pacific are expected to gather here. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to deliver a keynote address. Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche will co-chair the conference with Roland Busch, chairperson of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business and president and CEO of Siemens.

The timing could hardly be better. Companies are rethinking supply chains. AI is changing industries at extraordinary speed. Governments are reassessing economic dependencies. And business leaders everywhere are asking the same question: how do we remain competitive while becoming more resilient?

APK will bring that discussion to Seoul, covering industrial AI and manufacturing, supply chains, raw materials, geopolitics, sustainability and competitiveness. For Korea, this is more than an opportunity to host a major international conference. It is a chance to engage directly with influential German business and political decision-makers and demonstrate what Korea can offer as a long-term partner in Asia.

That exchange matters beyond individual deals. Greater exposure to each other’s companies, markets and business cultures helps leaders understand how their counterparts make decisions, manage risk and build partnerships. That familiarity can turn differences from a source of friction into an advantage.

For German business, APK is equally an invitation to look at Korea with fresh eyes. Korea is far more than an important export market. Its capabilities in semiconductors, batteries, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies make it an increasingly important partner as German companies rethink technology, investment and supply chains across the Asia-Pacific.

More than 140 years after Korea and Germany established diplomatic relations, we do not need another declaration that our countries are good partners. The relationship has already proved that. What matters now is what we do with it.

That means making it easier for companies to invest and innovate together. It means learning from each other’s successes and mistakes and looking beyond bilateral trade toward opportunities in new technologies, resilient supply chains and third markets. Germany and Korea will not always take the same route. Nor should we. Understanding those differences can help turn them into an advantage rather than a barrier.

In a world where certainty is becoming scarce, that kind of partnership is increasingly valuable. The next chapter of Korea-Germany cooperation will not be written by what we say about each other, but by how well we understand each other and what we build together.

Christoph Nowak is German chair of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) and managing director of DACHSER Korea.