Women CEOs from across South Korea converge on Jeju for 2026 WE-CON

About 1,500 women entrepreneurs from across South Korea have gathered on Jeju Island to share business experience and explore new opportunities.

The Korea Women Entrepreneurs Association announced Monday that it held the opening ceremony of the 2026 WE-CON National Women CEO Management Training at the Jeju International Convention Center.

Organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and hosted by the association with support from the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, the two-day event runs through Tuesday. It carries the slogan "3.37 million women entrepreneurs — a light illuminating the world, leading the future."

The national women CEO management training program began in 1999 and has been held in cities across the country to strengthen the management capabilities of women entrepreneurs and foster networking. This year, the event adopted a new brand name: WE-CON, short for Women Entrepreneurs Conference and Convention.

The name combines "Women Entrepreneurs," the pronoun "WE" — evoking the Korean word for "us" — and the concepts of connection and content. The association aims to develop the event into a platform where women business leaders can share experience and information and uncover new growth opportunities.

The opening ceremony was attended by Korea Women Entrepreneurs Association Chairwoman Park Chang-sook, Jeju Governor Wi Seong-gon and Ministry of SMEs and Startups Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok. The program included a vision proclamation, an announcement of Jeju's business support policies and a showcase of outstanding management practices by women-led companies.

Special lectures were delivered by Moon Seong-hu, CEO of Moonlead Lab; Byeon Hyeong-gyun, CEO of the North Chungcheong Creative Economy Innovation Center; and Kim Won-gil, CEO of Byner. They spoke on topics including leadership, the AI transformation and their own business experience.

Promotional booths showcasing products and services from women-owned businesses, as well as consulting booths for management challenges, were also set up. On Tuesday, the second day of the event, participants from the association's 21 regional chapters are scheduled to visit traditional markets and other sites around Jeju Island.

With the introduction of the new brand this year, the association is placing greater emphasis on turning connections among women entrepreneurs into lasting business partnerships. While preserving the event's original character as a gathering of women business leaders from across the country, it aims to strengthen information sharing and networking as tools for identifying new opportunities.

Park said the event should be a space where the experience and capabilities that women CEOs have built in their respective fields come together to create new opportunities — and where those results translate into growth for women-owned businesses as a whole. "We will develop WE-CON into South Korea's premier platform for women entrepreneurs — one that goes beyond simple meetings to uncover new business opportunities and share results together," she said.