Johannesburg, South Africa – In a poignant reminder of the enduring scars of division, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Saturday urged German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to impart Berlin's hard-won wisdom from its 1990 reunification, framing it as a blueprint for healing the Korean Peninsula's long-standing rift. The exchange unfolded during Lee's inaugural face-to-face summit with Merz, held on the fringes of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Johannesburg Expo Centre – the first such gathering on African soil.
"There is much for the Republic of Korea to learn from Germany's experience," Lee remarked, his voice carrying the weight of decades of inter-Korean tension. "We should learn about how Germany overcame division and achieved reunification, and the Republic of Korea should follow that path as well." The comments came as Lee's administration, in power since June, has ramped up overtures for dialogue with Pyongyang – overtures that have so far met with stony silence from the North. This marked a subtle pivot in Seoul's diplomacy, emphasizing peaceful integration over confrontation, even as North Korea's nuclear saber-rattling persists.
The meeting, lasting about 30 minutes, transcended symbolism to forge tangible alliances. Merz, whose center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) clinched Germany's chancellery in a 2025 snap election, reciprocated warmly, underscoring the "strong bilateral relationship" between the two export powerhouses. He voiced optimism for "deeper cooperation," a nod to shared stakes in semiconductors, automobiles, and green tech – sectors where South Korea and Germany vie for dominance while eyeing mutual gains.
In a joint readout from Lee's office, the duo pledged to amplify economic ties in energy transitions and critical minerals, vital for electric vehicle batteries and renewable grids. South Korea, the world's top refiner of rare earths like lithium and cobalt, sees Germany as a gateway to Europe's €1 trillion green deal, while Berlin eyes Seoul's prowess in hydrogen fuel cells.
Lee didn't stop at economics; he spotlighted defense synergies. Noting Germany's post-Ukraine pivot to bolster its arms sector – with a €100 billion special fund – he pitched South Korean firms like Hanwha and Hyundai Rotem for joint ventures. "Germany's growing role in Europe's defense industry offers a prime opportunity," Lee's team quoted him as saying, alluding to potential collaborations on next-gen tanks and missile systems. Merz, a vocal Atlanticist, signaled openness, hinting at trilateral frameworks involving the U.S. to counterbalance Indo-Pacific threats. The leaders greenlit reciprocal state visits in 2026, signaling a thaw in what has been a pragmatic but underleveraged partnership.
This Korea-Germany huddle was but one thread in Lee's bustling G20 tapestry, a summit themed "Solidarity and Sustainability" under South African host Cyril Ramaphosa's stewardship. Hosted November 22-23, the event drew 19 nation-states plus the EU and African Union, representing 85% of global GDP and two-thirds of humanity. Notably absent was U.S. President Donald Trump, whose boycott – sparked by Ramaphosa's prior barbs over trade tariffs – cast a shadow, yet propelled an early declaration on climate and inequality.
Lee, arriving Friday after stops in the UAE and Egypt, positioned Seoul as a "responsible partner" in tackling cascading crises: wildfires in the Amazon, floods in Bangladesh, and food insecurity afflicting 783 million souls worldwide.
In a plenary address, Lee championed "resilience diplomacy," vowing $500 million in Korean aid for African disaster prep and AI-driven early warnings. He invoked Korea's own odyssey from war-torn ashes to tech titan, urging G20 peers to "revisit development parameters" for inclusivity – a subtle swipe at protectionist drifts. His pitch resonated; the Johannesburg Communiqué, inked prematurely, recommitted to the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C guardrail and a $100 billion annual climate finance pledge to the Global South.
Lee's sidebar diplomacy was a whirlwind. Earlier Saturday, he convened with French President Emmanuel Macron, floating an upgrade from "comprehensive" to "strategic" partnership – a diplomatic escalation signaling deeper entanglements in Indo-Pacific security and culture. Macron, fresh from COP29 wrangling, enthused over joint ventures in quantum computing, AI, space tech, and nuclear fusion. "France is excited to visit Korea soon," he replied, eyeing a Paris-Seoul axis against supply chain chokepoints. The duo dissected Korean Peninsula dynamics, with Macron reaffirming EU sanctions on North Korea while backing Seoul's engagement tack.
No less electric was Lee's tete-a-tete with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their second in 2025, underscoring the "special strategic partnership's momentum." Amid handshakes and grins, they zeroed in on economic multipliers: boosting two-way trade beyond $30 billion via semiconductors and renewables, plus countering China's Belt and Road with a "Supply Chain Resilience Initiative." Modi hailed the synergy, tweeting: "Exchanged perspectives to further deepen our economic and investment linkages." Analysts see this as a hedge against Beijing's sway, with Korea's EV giants like Kia eyeing India's lithium rush.
Wrapping the day's marquee bilaterals, Lee huddled with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the G20's 2024 host whose Amazon stewardship looms large. Over coffee, they inked pacts on bioeconomy and deforestation tech, with Seoul pledging expertise in satellite monitoring for Lula's zero-deforestation vow by 2030. Lula, a leftist icon rebounding from scandals, lauded Korea's "green growth" model, floating joint funds for soy alternatives to curb fires. "Bilateral cooperation is the engine of global progress," Lee's office paraphrased Lula, amid talks on BRICS expansion – a club both eye warily yet curiously.
Beyond these, Lee rallied MIKTA – the middle-power bloc of Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, and Australia – for multilateral muscle on debt relief and digital divides. He also greeted UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and UN chief António Guterres, weaving a web of soft power. Sunday's agenda included a final plenary on AI governance, a Korean diaspora meet, and a flight to Ankara for Turkish talks – capping a 10-day odyssey spanning four nations.
Lee's G20 foray underscores a broader recalibration: from peninsula-focused realpolitik to a globalist remit. Since his Democratic Party's landslide in 2025 polls, Lee has leaned into "value diplomacy," blending human rights advocacy with pragmatic outreach – a contrast to his predecessor's hawkishness. Critics at home decry the reunification rhetoric as pie-in-the-sky amid North Korea's missile barrages, but supporters hail it as visionary, echoing Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik that greased East-West tracks.
Germany's tale offers sobering caveats. Reunification's €2 trillion tab strained budgets for generations, birthing east-west disparities that Merz's CDU still grapples with. Yet its triumph – symbolized by the Wall's 1989 fall – inspires. "No secret know-how, just political will and economic readiness," Merz quipped post-meeting, per aides.
For Korea, the stakes are existential: a unified market of 80 million, or perpetual DMZ dread.
As Johannesburg's sun set on the Expo Centre, Lee's overtures rippled. In a fractured world – from Gaza's agonies to Ukraine's quagmire – such dialogues whisper of bridges over chasms. Whether they span the 38th parallel remains the $64,000 question, but Saturday's handshakes affirm: hope, however fragile, endures.
