German ambassador to South Korea Hans-Ulrich Seidt says that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s proposed “unification tax” is a practical, constructive policy.

At a news conference celebrating the 20th anniversary of Germany’s unification at the German embassy on Wednesday, Seidt told reporters that the proposal of the unification tax sounds highly desirable to a German. He said that Germany, which has also experienced a unification of a divided nation, has a solidarity tax, which is similar to the proposed unification tax.

He added that Germany made judgment errors during the sudden unification by overestimating East Germany’s economic power. Another mistake was applying West Germany’s social welfare policies without any alterations, which were suited to the developed economy of West Germany rather than to the less-developed East Germany. The ambassador advised South Korea to take a gradual, phased-in approach to uniting or integrating North Korea with the South.

The ambassador added that although North Korea is currently isolated, its surrounding nations, including South Korea and China, are becoming highly developed economically and technologically, which would impact North Korea in some ways.