German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit South Korea on Oct. 29-30 for talks with President Lee Jae Myung and to attend the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business, known as APK, the presidential office said Friday.
The trip will be Merz’s first visit to South Korea since taking office and the first bilateral official visit by a German chancellor in three years.
Lee and Merz will hold summit talks on the afternoon of Oct. 29, followed by a joint press statement and an official dinner, chief presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing.
Discussions will cover trade and investment, batteries, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, defense and defense industry cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, alongside regional and international issues.
The meeting will be their third summit, following talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit last November and the G7 summit in Evian, France, in June.
“Germany is South Korea’s largest trading partner in Europe and a key partner, with about 850 Korean companies operating there,” Kang said.
Merz will deliver a keynote speech at APK 2026, expected to draw about 800 participants to Seoul, according to the German Embassy.
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com