Economic exchanges between South Korea and Germany continue to grow, particularly, in the high-tech sector, according to a German business leader in Korea.

``The Korean market is one of the most active places in Northeast Asia, not only in trading but also in production. To participate in this boom is a challenge for every German business person,’’ Dieter Brinkmann, chairman of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) said in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times. ``In particular, all high-tech goods have excellent chances to find a place in Korea.’’

Korea showcased its information technology prowess in the 2005 CeBIT, the world’s largest annual high-tech fair, held in Hanover, Germany between March 10-16.

More than 200 Korean high-tech companies, including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, joined the fair and showed off their cutting-edge digital technologies.

For instance, Samsung released such never-before-seen products as the 7-mega pixel camera phone, 3 giga bite hard disc drive phone and terrestrial digital media broadcasting (DMB)-supporting TV.

To benefit from the technology-driven Korean market, German companies in many sectors have introduced their high-tech goods in Korea.

``The KGCCI will host the `German World 2005’ between April 12-15 at COEX, a trade fair to give German companies an opportunity to introduce themselves and their innovative products to Korea,’’ he said.

In particular, automotive engineering, shipbuilding, the IT industry and mechanical engineering are areas that offer a wide field of opportunities for German companies, the KGCCI said.

Last year, despite the economic slowdown, German trade and investment in Korea rose 31 percent to $484 million last year over 2003.

``The volume of trade with Korea also soared to $16,8 billion last year, a 35 percent increase from that in 2003.

German exports to Korea reached $8.5 billion, while Korean exports to Germany stood at $8.3 billion,’’ Brinkmann, who is also president of Manturbo Korea said.

In 2004, Germany was the 6th largest trading partner of Korea after China, the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

For more economic exchange, however, the KCCI chairman advised Korea to make improvements in such areas as intellectual property rights (IPR) and communication.

``Some barriers to doing business in Korea are the lack of protection of trade marks and high import taxes on goods, which are also produced in Korea, including cars, fashion wear and luxury items,’’ he said. ``Communication is also often difficult, due to poor English language and a different culture and way of thinking.’’

Regarding future promising areas to enhance economic exchange between the two countries, Brinkmann put research and development (R&D) on the top of the list.

``In the academic sector, there is still a lack of interchange between universities,’’ he added.

The KGCCI, the biggest business association of German businesses in Korea, was established in 1981.

With the steady increase in bilateral trade between Korea and Germany over the past few decades, the activities of the KGCCI and the demand for its professional services have increased.

Today, the KGCCI has more than 350 member companies covering all types of businesses and all fields of industry and is a well recognized service provider for the Korean and German business community in Korea and abroad.

``The main objective of the KGCCI is to promote and develop trade relations between Korea and Germany,’’ the new chairman said.

``My priority as the chairman is to help the KGCCI become stronger in respect to the relations between the Korean and German companies, to assist newcomers to find the right way for doing business, to inform the German community about latest political and commercial developments and to maintain a stable and reliable position in the Korean market,’’ he said.