S. Korea, Japan mark 36 years of construction technology ties with joint seminar

South Korea and Japan's leading construction technology research institutes convened Wednesday to address shared challenges in river management, roads and urban housing.

The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) said it held the 36th KICT-JICE Joint Seminar at its headquarters in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, together with the Japan Institute of Construction Engineering (JICE).

The seminar is an annual exchange event on construction and land science technology that the two institutions have maintained since signing a cooperation agreement in 1989. They have alternated hosting duties between South Korea and Japan each year, sharing research findings and policy issues through joint seminars and field visits.

This year's seminar featured 12 presentations and discussions across four areas: rivers, roads, urban housing, and public procurement and policy. The two institutions exchanged research results and policy trends from their respective countries and discussed ways to coordinate responses to major issues in the construction and land development sectors.

JICE, founded in 1973, serves as a think tank for Japan's land and transport sector. It conducts research and policy support across a range of fields, including river management and disaster prevention, roads and smart mobility, urban and housing regeneration, and public procurement.

KICT President Park Seon-gyu said the seminar, now in its 36th year, "has been an important academic event that has contributed to research and policy development in the construction and land science technology sectors of the two countries." He added that KICT would "do its utmost to expand cooperation between the two countries, including joint responses to shared challenges, on the basis of our close partnership."