Themed 'Convergence of Advanced Technology, Future of Safety,' the event features 340 companies and institutions across 920 booths; export consultations with 101 overseas buyers also planned
The Ministry of Interior and Safety announced Tuesday it will co-host the 2026 Korea Safety Industry Expo with Busan Metropolitan City from Wednesday through Friday at Bexco in Busan.
Now in its 12th edition since launching in 2015, the expo is the country's largest safety industry trade show, designed to showcase cutting-edge technologies and products from domestic disaster-safety companies and help them break into overseas markets.
This year's event, themed "Convergence of Advanced Technology, Future of Safety," will bring together 340 domestic and international companies and institutions across 920 booths, presenting the latest disaster-safety technologies and products centered on AI, robots and drones.
The exhibition floor is divided into a special exhibition hall and a general exhibition hall.
The special hall features the Advanced Disaster Safety Industry Zone — showcasing AI, robotics, drone and other cutting-edge technologies across 256 booths from 131 companies — alongside a Global Enterprise Zone with 28 booths hosting 22 companies from nine countries, including Japan, China and Germany.
Key exhibits include an AI-based real-time urban flood prediction platform developed by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, an industrial and fire-safety inspection robot from the Korea Institute of Robotics and Technology Fusion, and a compact indoor inspection drone by Liberaware.
The general hall is organized into six dedicated zones covering natural disasters, lifestyle safety, public security, fire safety, industrial safety, and traffic and maritime safety. Public-sector exhibition spaces representing Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province will also operate to help regional disaster-safety companies find new markets.
Inside the Safety Experience Zone, visitors can try hands-on simulations of entrapment and electric-shock accidents, practice CPR, and use virtual reality setups for industrial safety and safe-driving scenarios. A mobile safety experience vehicle from Hyundai Motor and a vehicle rollover simulation facility from Korea Expressway Corporation will also be on site.
A range of business programs has been arranged to help companies expand their market reach.
Working with KOTRA, the Korea Disaster Safety Industry Technology Research Association and the Council on Cooperative Cooperation, the expo will host one-on-one export and procurement consultations between participating companies and invited buyers — 100 overseas and 83 domestic.
The Global Disaster Safety Business Forum will bring together international organization officials — including the ASEAN deputy secretary-general and the head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction's Asia-Pacific regional office — along with government representatives from Cambodia and other countries, global companies and industry experts. Participants will share perspectives on disaster-safety policy and international cooperation, and discuss innovation in advanced technologies including physical AI.
The expo will also host 42 academic and professional conferences, including an international disaster-prevention cooperation seminar, where participants will exchange the latest policy trends and research findings.
"As climate change makes disasters such as heavy rainfall, heat waves and droughts increasingly complex, safety is both a fundamental value the state must uphold and an industry we must develop into a new engine of growth for South Korea," Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung said. "Through this expo, I hope our companies with advanced technologies will leap into global markets, and that their growth will create a virtuous cycle that builds a safer society — one that elevates the safety industry into a core future industry for the nation."
thlee@heraldcorp.com
