Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy pushes to develop Korea's flagship exhibitions; conferences and export consultations planned. Kim Young-jae of Daeduck Electronics receives Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit.

Kang Gam-chan, director general for trade and investment at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy [Yonhap]
Kang Gam-chan, director general for trade and investment at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy [Yonhap]

"K Connect AI," a project linking five major advanced-industry exhibitions under the single theme of artificial intelligence, has been launched. The initiative connects the Korea Electronics Show, Semiconductor Korea, Industrial AI Expo, Asia Machinery & Manufacturing Industry Show and RoboWorld, with the goal of developing Korea's flagship exhibitions in the advanced-industry sector.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the Korea Electronics Show 2026 and the 21st Electronics and IT Day ceremony will be held jointly Tuesday at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

An opening ceremony, international conference, special exhibitions and export consultation sessions are among the programs scheduled to run for about a month.

At the opening ceremony, K Connect AI's vision will be formally declared, and the heads of the five affiliated exhibition organizers will take part in a cooperation ceremony.

On Oct. 21, an international conference will be held at the KINTEX Grand Ballroom in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, bringing together leading academics and corporate CEOs from home and abroad to discuss global trends and response strategies in manufacturing AI.

In the morning, Raffaello D'Andrea, a professor at ETH Zurich, and Park Min-woo, president of Hyundai Motor Group, will deliver keynote speeches and hold a discussion on "Expanding the Manufacturing AI Ecosystem and Response Strategies." In the afternoon, executives from IBM, Qualcomm and POSCO will present strategies and potential areas of cooperation for companies adopting AI, drawing on real-world industrial cases.

The ministry said it will use the K Connect AI event period to highlight the need for a manufacturing AI transformation — dubbed M.AX — and will set up a special pavilion showcasing and demonstrating real-world applications including AI factories, AI-based retail and logistics systems, and humanoid robots.

The ministry also plans to invite more than 130 overseas buyers active in the industrial AI sector to take part in export consultation sessions tied to the five exhibitions.

Kang Gam-chan, director general for trade and investment at the ministry, said the initiative aims to "build a business platform that leads innovation in our industries and continuously drives Korea toward $1 trillion in exports, and to develop it into a globally recognized exhibition representing Korea."

Meanwhile, 41 individuals will receive government commendations at the Electronics and IT Day ceremony held Tuesday. Kim Young-jae, chairman of Daeduck Electronics, will receive the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for his contributions to stabilizing domestic and international electronics industry supply chains through the localization of advanced semiconductor substrates and the mass production of new high-value-added substrate products.

Cho Ji-tae, executive vice president at LG Innotek, was selected to receive the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for his contributions to strengthening national industrial competitiveness, including through the development of AI-based smart factories.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com