Ministry invites delegates from 14 countries alongside technology exhibitions and investment pitches
South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will open the 2026 K-Geo Festa, the country's largest geospatial technology exchange exhibition, at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday for a three-day run.
Now in its 18th edition, the event is the flagship international gathering for the geospatial industry, bringing together businesses, academics, research institutions and government agencies to share the latest technologies and industry trends and to help domestic companies expand overseas.
This year's theme is "GeoAI: Driving Change, Shaping the World," with a focus on the technological shifts and commercial opportunities that emerge from combining AI with geospatial data. The exhibition will showcase advanced data-collection and application technologies aimed at turning those capabilities into new services and business opportunities.
Seven themed pavilions — covering the history of geospatial information, public data, lifestyle services, solutions and platforms, future talent, public relations and hands-on experiences — will feature 117 domestic and international companies and organizations tracing the past, present and future of the field.
The opening ceremony will include a keynote address by Jung Jae-seung, a KAIST professor, on the future of South Korea in the AI era through geospatial information. Thirty conferences will follow, sharing geospatial technologies and case studies.
The event will also run programs focused on technology commercialization, overseas expansion and connecting companies with talent. A pitch competition will invite domestic and international venture investors and overseas buyers to hear presentations from South Korean firms, with business matching sessions also on offer.
To support companies seeking to expand abroad, the World Bank, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Korea International Cooperation Agency and Export-Import Bank of Korea are among the participating organizations. A total of 49 delegates from 14 countries — including Qatar and Mongolia, key markets for South Korean geospatial technology — have been invited to learn about the country's geospatial policies and technologies. The ministry is also pursuing MOUs on geospatial cooperation with Indonesia and Azerbaijan.
Second Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Jeong Eui-gyeong said geospatial information — which enables accurate understanding and analysis of the real world across land, cities, transportation and logistics — will only grow in importance in the AI era. "We will work to make K-Geo Festa a platform that showcases innovative technologies from our geospatial industry and promotes cooperation, investment and overseas expansion among companies," Jeong said.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is hosting the event. Co-organizers include the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation, the Spatial Information Quality Management Institute, Korea National Railway, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Real Estate Board, the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, the Spatial Information Industry Promotion Institute, the Korea Geospatial Information Industry Association and the Korea Geospatial Information Industry Cooperative.
Meanwhile, the ministry finalized its Fourth Basic Plan for Geospatial Industry Promotion (2026–2030) in August, committing to strengthen the competitiveness of the geospatial sector as a core data infrastructure for emerging industries including digital twins, autonomous driving, robot delivery, smart logistics and AI cities.
smh@heraldcorp.com
