German Chancellor Merz to visit Ewha Womans University, tour quantum science lab

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in Seoul to attend the 19th Asia-Pacific Conference Germany (APK 2026), will visit Ewha Womans University in Seodaemun-gu on Friday afternoon.

Merz is scheduled to tour the Institute for Basic Science's Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS), located in the university's research cooperation building, alongside Ewha Womans University Vice President for Research and External Affairs Park Jeong-su and IBS Deputy Director Park Bae-ho.

The QNS is led by Andreas Heinrich, a German-born professor of physics at Ewha Womans University. Heinrich spent roughly 18 years conducting nanoscience research at IBM Research in the United States and has served as director of the QNS since 2017.

After touring the lab, Merz is expected to meet with early-career researchers and exchange views on science and technology issues, including basic science.

The visit marks only the second time a sitting German chancellor has come to Ewha Womans University, following Angela Merkel's visit in 2010. Merkel received an honorary doctorate in political science at the university's Kim Yeong-ui Hall that year.

Ewha Womans University currently has student exchange agreements with major German universities, including Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Göttingen and the University of Munich.

"We will use Chancellor Merz's visit as an opportunity to further expand educational and research exchanges with German universities and research institutions, and to strengthen joint research and the cultivation of next-generation global talent between the two countries," a university official said.