Nam Kyung-pil: "Time for Korea to Benchmark German Politics and Economy"

Gyeonggi Province has decided to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Germany's Saxony, known as Europe's Silicon Valley.

Governor Nam received Stanislaw Tillich, President of the German Federal Council and Minister President of Saxony, at his office on the morning of the 27th, and said, "We must learn from Germany going forward. The implications of Germany's coalition government and social economy are significant." He continued, "I have been interested in coalition governments since my time as a lawmaker, and Gyeonggi Province is actually implementing coalition governance. Korea has also entered an environment where coalition government is necessary. Please share your experience."

Tillich, Minister President of Saxony, responded, "Saxony has extensive experience with coalition governments, having maintained them for the past three terms. We can offer helpful insights." He added, "Since Germany is a federal system, each state is pursuing distinctive and optimized democracy. Considering Korea's unique differences from Germany, Korea too should pursue coalition government in its own way."

The Saxony delegation's visit was made to strengthen exchanges between the two regions, which have continued since 2013.

Gyeonggi Province dispatched a delegation to Saxony in 2013, and since then has maintained continuous exchanges, including a visit by Hartmut Fiedler, Deputy Minister of Economy of Saxony, in December of that year, and a reciprocal visit to the province by Martin Dulig, Minister of Economy and Vice Minister President, in May 2015.

Governor Nam and Minister President Tillich agreed through their talks on this day to continuously strengthen exchanges and cooperation in diverse areas including coalition government, youth employment, university exchanges, and support for startups' global market entry between the province and Saxony.

Saxony is home to world-class cutting-edge applied technology research institutions including the Max Planck Institute, famous for producing the most Nobel Prize winners in the world, and the Fraunhofer Society, Germany's most patent-rich research institute, as well as Dresden University of Technology, Europe's leading technical university, earning it the nickname "Europe's Silicon Valley."