[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 consi