Siemens President and CEO Roland Busch and Naver CEO Soo-yeon Choi are due to discuss industrial AI at a Seoul forum focused on manufacturing, trade and supply-chain resilience.
The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI), the event’s local co-host, estimates that about 800 senior decision-makers from business and politics will attend. The 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business is scheduled for Oct. 29-31, 2026, at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. Its sessions are set for Oct. 30 and 31.
The conference is jointly organized by the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business (APA), Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) and the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHKs). KGCCI has presented the gathering as a place to discuss how trade shifts, geopolitical tensions and rapid technological change affect Germany-Asia-Pacific business ties. The chamber dates the conference series to 1986; the Seoul meeting is its 19th edition, four decades after the first.
The official program pairs Busch and Choi for a dialogue on industrial AI. Boehringer Ingelheim CEO Shashank Deshpande is listed for a separate Oct. 30 session on AI in manufacturing. Other agenda topics include trade, raw materials, circular-economy issues, business resilience and corporate financing amid geopolitical risk.
KGCCI’s speaker announcement names Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing, BASF Chairman Markus Kamieth, DHL Group CEO Tobias Meyer and Schaeffler CEO Klaus Rosenfeld among the participants. The official program lists thyssenkrupp CEO Miguel Ángel Lopez Borrego for a session on corporate financing in Asia.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to deliver the opening keynote Oct. 30. KGCCI’s speaker announcement also names German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche and Busch as conference co-chairs. A welcome reception is scheduled at The Shilla Seoul on Thursday, Oct. 29, ahead of the two days of conference sessions.
