Companies around the world have had to factor increasing geopolitical risks and medium- to long-term challenges into their global trade and investment strategies in recent years. While there is a lot of talk about decoupling on the political level, there is often no mention of it on the corporate side. Building on existing cooperation between German and Korean industrial companies, both sides should increasingly work together to reduce risks in the supply chains.
This panel will discuss diversification strategies and the importance of investment in the semi-conductor industry for Germany and Korea. Panelists will also exchange views and experiences on how both countries can cooperate in the field of NEV battery production.

Speaker
Dr. Thomas Altenmüller
Vice President Manufacturing Analytics, Infineon Technologies
Martin Kueppers
CEO, Continental Automotive Korea Ltd.
Dr. Johann Schwenk
Senior Expert Governmental Affairs & Funding, Webasto Group

Moderator
Dr. Volker Treier
Chief Executive of Foreign Trade, Member of the Executive Board, DIHK

Digitalization brings people and the world closer together. Cooperation among countries, governments, societies and industries is necessary – best-practice sharing useful. Coordination of digital policies with its rules on data privacy, data sharing and cybersecurity is a must. Germany and Korea work closely together. The newly created German-Korean Digital Dialogue – hosted in Germany by the BMDV and the MIC on the Korean side – focuses on joint digital strategies, Artificial Intelligence, 6G, Quantum technologies, Smart Factory, Smart Cities, Cloud industry, FinTech and start-up development. As Korea is a key partner for the EU in the Indo-Pacific region, the European Commission engages in close exchanges with Korea too. In November 2022, an agreement on Digital Trade Principles was signed. The panellists will provide examples and best practice and discuss what Germany, the EU and Korea can jointly do to improve our cooperation and advance the global digital transformation.

Speaker
Thorsten Boeker
Director Business Development, Samsung Electronics GmbH
Dr. Julia Jonas
Ecosystem Management Siemens Industrial Edge, Siemens
Dong-hwan Lee
Mayor of Goyang City
Dr. Dirk Pieler
Executive Vice President Business Unit Industry Solutions, Rittal GmbH & Co. KG
Anja Simon
CEO, LNI4.0 (Labs Network Industries 4.0)
Oliver Wittmaier
CIO, DB Systel GmbH

Moderator
Dr. Oliver Blank
Head of ZVEI Global Affairs + Economics, ZVEI

Within the framework of the German-Korean Energy Partnership, which was concluded at governmental level at the end of 2019, both countries aim to strengthen their energy policy cooperation in order to jointly meet future opportunities and challenges of the national energy transition. The development of renewable energy solutions like hydrogen technologies, wind power and solar energy is therefore a common goal for Korean and German businesses.
In this session, company representatives from Korea and Germany will give testimonials of successfully implemented projects and exchange experiences about problems and challenges they are facing.

Speaker
David Jones
Head of Offshore Development & Country Manager, RWE Renewables Korea
Dr. Lars Kissau
President Net Zero Accelerator, BASF SE
Dr. Patric Kleineidam
Head of Product Onshore Renewables, Tractebel Engineering GmbH
Dr. Joseph Seung-min La
Head of Strategic Business Office, POSCO Europe
Jinho Park
Representative Director, Doosan Enerbility Frankfurt Office

Moderator
Dr. Martin Henkelmann
President & CEO, KGCCI

Korea is one of the most dynamic countries in East Asia, adapting quickly to new technologies and successfully making them applicable and useful for everyone's daily life. Germany, on the other hand, is the economic heart of the European Union and offers access to a market of 450 million people. Korea and Germany each offer unique challenges, but also unique opportunities.
In this panel discussion, we will talk about strategies to enter the respective market: ways to do business, ways to get along with cultural differences, and – at the end of the day – ways to be successful. Korea and Germany can complement each other, for large and small companies.

Speaker
Dr. Thorsten Clajus
Head of Integrated Supply Chain Specialty Gases, Merck Group
Minchul Lee
Founder and CEO, EasyCookAsia
Eric Menges
President and CEO, FrankfurtRheinMain International Marketing of the Region
Bong-kee Park
Head of the Investment Promotion Team, KOTRA Frankfur
Sung Hyun Yoon
Representative Director, Head of Mando Europe, HL Mando Corp. Europe GmbH

Moderator
Dajin Lie
Lawyer, TAYLOR WESSING

Bloomberg has rated Korea several times in a row as most innovative country in the world – only to be interrupted by Germany in 2020 with again Korea taking the top spot in 2021. In recent years, Korea succeeded in building an excellent ecosystem for startups. In a country still dominated by very large corporations, a vibrant and dynamic scene has come to existence benefitting from not only entrepreneurial spirit nurtured by universities and research institutes such as KAIST, but also from tailor-made venture capital and government support. For this pitching session, we invited seven Korean startups, each with their own technological edge, presenting before a European public.

Speaker
Sung-Kuk Kim
Head of Venture Capital, Hanwha Investment & Securities
Representatives of Korean Start-ups
AinB (Biotech)
10WONDERS (SaaS Marketing Solution)
REPLA (Biochemical)
MOVEMENTS (Construct Tech)
MarkHerz (Biotech)