The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 23rd it will host the country's largest urban and regional innovation expo, the "2025 Korea Urban and Regional Innovation Industry Expo," for four days from the 24th to the 27th at the Jeongra District in Samcheok, Gangwon Province.
Now in its seventh year, the expo is a forum where the central and local governments and the private sector share urban innovation technologies and policies with the public and discuss solutions for sustainable urban and regional development, the ministry said.
The Urban and Regional Innovation Industry Expo is co-hosted by the ministry, the Urban Regeneration Industry Promotion Association, and Yonhap News Agency, and, as it is being held at an urban regeneration site in Samcheok this year, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province and Samcheok City will also take part.
Under the slogan "Breathing life into regions, breathing air into cities," the expo will survey policies, technologies, and industries of urban and regional innovation in one place. In particular, through an international conference, seminars, and forums, it will broadly share and discuss the latest trends and innovative cases, including smart technologies, urban safety, and waterfront city regeneration.
The opening ceremony on the first day, the 24th, will begin with a video opening address by Minister Kim Yoon-deok of the ministry, followed by a video congratulatory message from Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development Chairperson Kim Kyeong-soo and a welcome address by Kangwon Province Vice Governor for Economic Affairs Kim Gwang-rae.
Afterward, with the announcement of the next host city, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will present awards for outstanding achievements in the public and private sectors, including the Urban and Regional Innovation Grand Prize, with plans to support the spread of exemplary policy outcomes and private-sector innovation cases.
Also on the first day, the Advanced Technology Safety Inspection Association will hold a seminar on the theme of "Urban safety using mobility equipment." The seminar will feature a demonstration of a quadruped walking robot and a discussion on smart disaster prevention systems applying advanced mobility technologies.
On the second day, the 25th, the international conference will address the main theme of "Digital transformation, digital technology and smart urban regeneration," covering agendas such as "urban sensing and digital twins," "challenges facing smart cities in Japan's regional cities," and "smart regeneration of shrinking cities through living labs."
On the 26th, six urban regeneration hub universities will host the "Global Water Front City Forum." The forum will look at cases of waterfront city regeneration in Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands and discuss policy directions for sustainable waterfront city regeneration that can be applied domestically.
In addition, ▲ the Urban Regeneration 4.0 seminar for a basic society centered on balanced growth ▲ the Placemaking & Town Management seminar ▲ the Gangwon spatial innovation plan seminar ▲ the urban regeneration academic paper presentation conference ▲ the joint urban regeneration workshop are also planned.
A total of 123 institutions will take part in the exhibition, including 77 local governments and public institutions and 46 private organizations and corporations, and it will be organized into the Public Innovation Hall, the Urban and Regional Innovation Hall, and the Industrial Innovation Hall.
In his video opening address, the minister is expected to say, "This expo is a venue to ponder the future of cities and regions together and to seek a new path toward a Korea where everyone prospers," adding, "I hope the wisdom and experience shared today will spread across the country, beyond Samcheok."