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Busan Meets with German Ambassador to Discuss Stronger Cooperation in Maritime, Port and People-to-People Exchanges

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that Mayor Chun met with Georg Wilfried Schmidt, German Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, at 2:30 p.m. yesterday, August 10, in the International Protocol Room at Busan City Hall. They discussed ways to expand cooperation between Busan and Germany in a wide range of areas, including maritime and port affairs and people-to-people exchanges.

The visit took place on the occasion of Ambassador Schmidt’s trip to Busan to attend an event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP), established at Pusan National University.

Mayor Chun welcomed the ambassador, saying, “Following our meeting at the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee last July, it is especially meaningful to meet again here in Busan. Germany is a longstanding partner with which Korea has built deep mutual trust over many years.”

Korea and Germany have maintained friendly relations for more than 140 years, beginning with the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Korea and Germany in 1883. Busan holds particular significance in the history of Korea-Germany friendship. The German Red Cross Hospital was established in Busan in 1954 and treated approximately 270,000 patients over about five years, putting humanitarian values into practice.

Busan and Hamburg have also steadily expanded exchanges in a variety of fields, including maritime and port affairs, urban regeneration and culture. The two cities signed a Joint Declaration of Friendly Cooperation in 2005, an agreement on friendly exchanges between their city councils in 2009, and an agreement establishing a friendly cooperation city relationship in 2023.

In particular, through the K2H program for invited foreign local government officials, a Hamburg city official is working at Busan City Hall again this year, following last year, sharing experience in urban administration and strengthening mutual understanding through substantive exchanges.

• ●K2H, or Korea Heart to Heart, is a program jointly organized by Busan Metropolitan City and the Governors Association of the Republic of Korea to promote international exchange and friendship with overseas cities by inviting local government officials from abroad for training and fostering professionals with close ties to Busan. From 1999 through 2025, a total of 36 local government officials from 19 cities in 17 countries completed the training program.

Mayor Chun went on to say, “Under our vision of becoming a global maritime capital at the center of a great transformation toward the future, Busan is pursuing the development of a tri-port system linking Gadeokdo New Airport and Busan New Port, the establishment of an international logistics foundation to lead the era of Arctic shipping routes, and the development of AI-based smart ports.”

He added, “Germany has world-class manufacturing competitiveness as well as advanced capabilities in green industries and smart port technologies. We expect to expand cooperation in a wide range of areas, including eco-friendly port operations, digital and AI-based smart logistics, carbon neutrality at ports, and the training of maritime and port professionals.”

Ambassador Georg Wilfried Schmidt responded, “I am very pleased to visit Busan again,” and congratulated the city on the successful hosting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session.

Ambassador Schmidt added, “Alongside cooperation between local governments, citizen-led exchanges are also an important foundation for further strengthening relations between Korea and Germany. I hope exchanges and cooperation between Busan and Germany will continue to expand across a wide range of fields, including maritime and port affairs, urban administration and culture.”

Mayor Chun concluded the meeting by saying, “I hope this visit will further advance the friendship between Busan and Germany and lead to substantive achievements in a wide range of areas, including maritime and port affairs and citizen exchanges.”