South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrived in Berlin on Sunday on the first leg of a three-nation European tour focused on boosting investment and trade with the European economies ahead of the implementation of a free trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union.
The eight-day trip, which will also take Lee and first lady Kim Yoon-ok to Denmark and France later this week, came days after South Korea's parliament ratified the trade pact last week, enabling it to take effect in July as scheduled.
The accord calls for eliminating 98 percent of import duties and other trade barriers between the two sides over the next five years. The European Parliament approved the agreement in February.
Later Sunday, Lee was to hold an interview with the German daily FAZ and meet with South Korean residents here.
On Monday, Lee is scheduled to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Christian Wulff. Expanding trade and investment between the two countries will be a major topic for the meetings, along with cooperation in the area of "green growth" and other global matters, officials said.
"Germany is the largest stakeholder in the Korea-EU FTA as it is Europe's biggest economy," a senior presidential official said on customary condition of anonymity.
Another key event in Lee's trip to Berlin is a meeting with experts on the 1990 unification of East and West Germany. Lee is expected to seek their views on how best to prepare for unification with North Korea.
Officials say South Korea has a lot to learn from Germany's experience, especially its handling of the unified economy. Last year, Lee had proposed introducing a special tax to finance the massive cost for potential unification with the impoverished North, but the idea fizzled out amid opposition objections.
A local newspaper reported earlier that Lee may make a major policy announcement in Berlin on relations with North Korea, but aides said no such plans are in the works. Ties between the two Koreas have been tense since Lee took office in early 2008 and frayed further following North Korea's two deadly attacks on the South last year.
The four-day visit to Germany, which includes a stop in the financial center of Frankfurt, will also include meetings with the speaker of the lower house of Germany's parliament and the mayor of Berlin and a round-table meeting in Frankfurt with the CEOs of major German firms.
Lee's visit to Denmark, set for Wednesday and Thursday, is focused on green growth, one of Lee's trademark policies that calls for seeking economic growth by promoting environment-friendly technologies and industries. Denmark is a global leader in environment-friendly technologies.
Lee and Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen are scheduled to adopt a joint declaration on green growth at their summit set for Thursday. Lee also plans to attend the opening ceremony of the Danish branch of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an international think tank that Seoul set up last year to study green growth strategies and policies.
The visit to Copenhagen also includes a dinner reception hosted by Queen Margrethe II.
On Thursday, Lee will head to Paris for a summit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The two leaders are expected to focus discussions on ways to expand trade and investment and increase cooperation in the framework of the Group of 20 forum.
South Korea hosted a G-20 summit in November last year and Paris is scheduled to host this year's meeting.
North Korea and the international standoff over its nuclear programs could also be on the agenda as France is one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. South Korea has sought to get the Security Council to take up the issue of Pyongyang's uranium enrichment program as a violation of U.N. resolutions.
The trip to Paris also includes a dinner reception to be hosted by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, a forum of South Korean and French business representatives, a meeting with French scholars and a visit to University of Paris 7.
Lee also plans to hold talks with Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
Source: Yonhap News (May 8, 2011)