Four international conferences in South Gyeongsang Province earn ICCA, UIA recognition

Four international conferences held in South Gyeongsang Province have been officially recognized by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and the Union of International Associations (UIA).

The Gyeongnam Tourism Foundation announced Thursday that it had identified 16 international conferences held in the province and submitted applications to the UIA for registration, with two ultimately approved. Three conferences had previously been recognized by the ICCA, but one overlaps with a UIA-recognized event, bringing the combined total to four distinct conferences.

The two events credited by the UIA were the World Korean Network (KOWIN) conference held in Changwon in August 2025 and the ISO Technical Committee 67 (ISO TC67) general assembly on offshore plant standards held in Geoje in October of the same year. The KOWIN event, organized by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, drew 508 participants from four countries. The ISO TC67 assembly was the first time the body had convened in South Korea since its founding in 1974, and helped raise the profile of Geoje's shipbuilding and offshore plant industries.

The ICCA and UIA are the two leading international bodies that track conference hosting records, though they differ in their recognition criteria and statistical methods. Recognition by both organizations has raised the province's international profile as a conference destination.

The results bring the number of local governments in the province with official international conference credentials to three — Changwon, Jinju and Geoje. Building on the three ICCA-registered conferences, Jinju and Geoje have also entered the ICCA's Asia-Pacific city rankings.

The foundation said it plans to work with local governments, academic societies and industry groups across the province to identify additional international conferences tied to regionally specialized industries, and to expand its presence in official international organization statistics.

"Events that leveraged the region's industrial base and international networks have met global standards," said Bae Jong-cheon, chief executive of the Gyeongnam Tourism Foundation. "We will further strengthen South Gyeongsang Province's capacity to attract and host international conferences."