The CEO of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and business leaders from German companies on Tuesday highlighted the importance of cooperation between South Korean and German companies in the era of artificial intelligence, at a forum on Tuesday.

"I truly believe that everything has to do with AI, computing data centers and semiconductors. German companies have a lot of expertise in these fields. ... I think those areas are where Korea is very strong and where German companies can collaborate, co-invest and co-invent. Software is actually one of the things where we have a lot of potential to work together," said KGCCI CEO Marie Antonia von Schoenburg in a special session titled "Future-oriented Korean-German Partnerships," at the forum held at the German ambassador's residence in Seoul. A forum titled "Korean-German Business Connect" was jointly organized by the Herald Media Group and the German Embassy.

Schoenburg underlined the capabilities of German firms and what she expects for the next couple of years.

"We are not Google or Microsoft of the world. But Germany is very specialized and has specialized software for industry purposes and applications. And the new Korea-EU digital deal that will help us transport data between our countries and bring specialized software solutions for German and Korean industries," she said.

While finding business cooperation between Germany and South Korea has been very successful, Steffen Trabert, president of Korea Illies Engineering, shared the thought that trends of the past would likely not persist.

"Neither (are) the past textile machines still made in Germany, nor do Korean customers still buy such a machine. There has been a huge development. I would say smart manufacturing is definitely a future trend. The industrial AI will also be driving our future," Trabert explained.

Kim May, president and chief financial officer of Henkel Korea, agreed that though both Korea and Germany have been manufacturing different products very well, almost everything has changed due to AI.

"This part is what we are slower than America. But I believe we can catch them up based on our inherited competitiveness," Kim added.

With the panels of Tuesday's session including experts from different industries -- adhesive technologies, consumer products, advanced machinery, science and technology -- Kim Woo-kyu, managing director of Merck Korea, felt that notable synergy could be created in the near future.

"Germany traditionally has a lot of knowledge which they can bring it to the industry. Korea is very quick, taking the technology and swiftly implementing it to the commercialization. I think there's a huge opportunity between these two countries. We can be a joint force that can address the changes with the superpowers around the world," said the managing director.

But the KGCCI CEO expressed concerns over some of the challenges that may hinder Germany and Korea from unlocking the next tranche of growth.

Though there is an EU-Korea free trade agreement, there are still barriers for approvals and technical standards when entering the Korean market, according to Schoenburg.

"I heard from one of the companies, which produces mostly in Germany and the United States, that their products are on the ship and were expected to take about two to three months. But within that time, some legislations were changed. This makes the situation very difficult," said the KGCCI CEO, adding that "investment doesn't like the lack of predictability in general."

She also stressed that Korea sometimes has a tendency to not pay the price for innovation, even though the country appreciates it.

"When it comes to the pharma industry, there are a lot of difficulties to get new products with a high rate of innovation into the market and get a fair price," said Schoenburg.

"Korea enjoys innovation and it also wants to come from being an early adopter to a driving force of innovation. But this change comes with a price tag. I think there needs to be some switch in the perception," Schoenburg added.

Some 60 CEOs and business leaders of the Global Biz Forum, a weekly business forum hosted by Herald Media Group, also participated.

Business leaders call for stronger German-Korean cooperation in advanced manufacturing, AI