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President Lee Jae-myung and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz greet each other prior to their bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit venue in Évian-les-Bains, France, on June 16 (local time). / Photo courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

President Lee Jae-myung held a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on June 16 on the occasion of the G7 Summit held in Évian, France, and discussed measures to expand cooperation across economic, industrial, scientific-technological, and security fields.

The South Korea-Germany summit comes about seven months after their first summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the occasion of the G20 Summit last November.

According to the Blue House on June 17, President Lee held a separate bilateral meeting with Chancellor Merz in the afternoon, immediately following the G7 Summit outreach session.

In his opening remarks, President Lee stated, "I hope South Korea and Germany can work together so that our relations can leap forward to a genuinely new stage, distinct from the past."

Chancellor Merz responded, "The Republic of Korea is highly evaluated in Germany, and our cooperation up to now has also been progressing well."

Chancellor Merz also announced his plan to visit South Korea at the end of October. He said, "I am scheduled to visit the Republic of Korea at the end of October," adding, "I hope to see you once again at that time." He continued, "I would be grateful if you could attend the meeting we are preparing and share your valuable insights."

The two leaders also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.

President Lee stated, "Following the conclusion of the agreement between the United States and Iran, I hope that stability in the Middle East will be restored swiftly, including the resumption of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz."

Chancellor Merz said, "Recently, the international crude oil market and financial markets have been showing a relatively stable trend," but added, "There is a need to continuously monitor the situation in the Middle East." He also emphasized the necessity of sustained efforts by the international community to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

Defense cooperation was also addressed as a major agenda item. South Korea and Germany are currently competing over Canada's submarine project, which is valued at 60 trillion KRW.

President Lee said, "Beyond a competitive relationship, our two countries will be able to seek various cooperation models, such as joint research and development, joint production, and joint entry into third countries."

In response, Chancellor Merz expressed his agreement, stating, "For Germany as well, we hope to expand cooperation not only among EU member states but also with partner nations including South Korea."

                                                                                                      Park Young-hoon