ModigenceVision represents Korea at the AI Startup Award as APK 2026 brings 800 German and Asia-Pacific leaders to Seoul

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) released the full program of APK 2026, the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business, on October 6, Herald Business reported the same day. The conference runs October 29–31 in Seoul and expects about 800 government and business leaders from Germany and the Asia-Pacific region. In the AI Startup Award, the article says, ModigenceVision, winner of KGCCI’s Korea-Germany Connect: AI Startup Pitching Challenge 2026 in July, takes part as the representative of Korea.

APK is organized jointly by the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business (APA), Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and the network of German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHK). Held every two years since 1986, the conference marks its fortieth year in 2026. Chancellor Merz gives the keynote. The opening is shared by Katherina Reiche, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy; Kim Jeong-kwan, Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources; and Roland Busch, chairman of the APA and president and CEO of Siemens AG. Peter Adrian, president of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), gives the welcome.

The program opens on October 29 with a welcome reception hosted by Deutsche Bank at The Shilla Seoul; the conference itself takes place on October 30–31 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. October 30 begins with Adrian’s welcome, the opening remarks by Reiche, Kim, and Busch, Merz’s keynote, and a session titled “Three Questions to the Chancellor.” The agenda covers the realignment of global power and trade, AI and manufacturing, raw materials and the circular economy, corporate financing under geopolitical risk, and industrial policy and business resilience. In the Tech Dialogue on Industrial AI, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon and Busch discuss how AI is applied in manufacturing and what it does to industrial competitiveness. Markus Kamieth, CEO of BASF, Tobias Meyer, CEO of DHL Group, and Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank, also speak, and an AHK Business Luncheon session is devoted to the Korean market.

The paper reads the Seoul edition as a change of emphasis. Earlier conferences were about German companies entering Asian markets and building networks; in 2026 the questions are where to produce, which technologies to secure, and how to respond to supply chain shocks, with the Asia-Pacific region treated as a partner in technology, production, and supply chains rather than an export market. Reiche called the Indo-Pacific a core hub where fast-growing markets, innovation, and future technology come together, and said Germany should widen its economic role there through strategic partnerships and investment in resilient supply chains. Korea, the article adds, pairs manufacturing strength in semiconductors, automobiles, and batteries with competitiveness in AI and digital technology, which makes it a key partner for German companies in Asia; cooperation can grow from traditional manufacturing into AI-driven production and supply chain management. President Lee Jae-myung and Chancellor Merz discussed expanding trade and investment at the G7 summit in June.

For ModigenceVision the award follows the July 15 win in Seoul, where a jury drawn from the German Embassy, KITA, Infineon, AUMOVIO, Mercedes-Benz, and The Korea Herald chose the company from five finalists and the prize was a live pitch on the APK 2026 main stage. The company builds the modular AI vision platform MARU™ Gen 2, which puts 3D sensing, edge AI compute, and vision software on one platform for robotics and industrial automation. Read our summary of the July coverage