South Korea and Germany signed a declaration on an economic and high-tech partnership at a Seoul conference, setting a framework for cooperation in critical minerals and industries central to regional supply chains.
South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jung-kwan signed the declaration with Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Korean ministry said. The ministry described plans spanning critical-mineral supply chains and joint work in semiconductors, mobility, batteries and industrial AI.
The 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business, known as APK 2026, took place Oct. 29-31 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. It was organized by the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and German Chambers of Commerce Abroad. The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry was the local co-host.
The Korean-German Chamber said the Seoul meeting would connect Korean companies with German business leaders and give German companies insight into Korea’s innovation ecosystem.
South Korea’s Manufacturing AI Transformation (M.AX) strategy was also presented at the conference. The ministry says the plan aims to apply AI across manufacturing operations and targets 500 AI factories by 2030. It points to a declining working-age population, an older skilled workforce and slowing productivity as pressures on manufacturers.
At the Korea Evening event at the Westin Seoul Parnas, the ministry said more than 600 government and business representatives from Korea, Germany and the Asia-Pacific attended. The Korea Herald reported 500 attendees from 120 companies, giving a different count. The newspaper also quoted Minister for Trade Park Jung-sung as backing “open, stable and mutually beneficial economic relations” with Germany and Asia-Pacific partners.
The conference’s Oct. 30 “2nd AI Startup Award” featured five companies listed on the official programme: Oorja of India, ModigenceVision of Korea, MarinaChain of Singapore, Enfarm of Vietnam and YanYin of China. The Korea Herald reported that Enfarm won, with CEO Dzung Do Nguyen presenting.
The ministry says APK has met every two years since 1986. Seoul hosted the 11th conference in 2007, and the 2026 event marked its return to Korea.
