Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to foster at least 5 representative national and regional exhibitions by 2030

The government will foster at least five national and regional exhibitions by 2030 to build a business platform suitable for the era of $1 trillion in exports.

In addition, the proportion of large convergence exhibitions combining industry and culture will be increased from the current 5% to 20%.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the 'Exhibition Industry Development Roadmap 2030' containing such mid- to long-term development plans at the Economic Relations Ministerial Meeting on the 14th.

The domestic exhibition industry has achieved quantitative growth since the enactment of the Exhibition Industry Development Act in 2008, but in terms of quality, there is still a gap with the global level.

Even Korea's largest exhibition, the Seoul International Production and Manufacturing Technology Exhibition (SIMTOS), has only 10% of overseas visitors and transaction volume compared to Germany's Hannover Messe.

In particular, in the case of non-metropolitan areas, the operating rate of 7 out of 11 exhibition halls was found to be below 50% as of last year due to insufficient transportation and lodging infrastructure and lack of differentiated content.

Accordingly, the government decided to seek a qualitative leap by combining our strengths, cutting-edge manufacturing base and K-culture, with exhibition infrastructure.

First, we plan to expand the scope of major domestic high-tech industry exhibitions, such as electronics, semiconductors, and robots, by grouping them under one theme: artificial intelligence (AI).

With the completion of the KINTEX 3rd exhibition hall in November 2028, we plan to integrate the Korea Electronics Show, Semiconductor Show, Asia Machinery & Manufacturing Industry Show, and Roboworld to develop it into Asia's best high-tech industry exhibition.

The exhibition of consumer goods such as food and cosmetics provides overseas visitors with the opportunity to experience the K-lifestyle by combining cultural and tourism programs such as K-pop performances and gourmet experiences.

A plan to foster regional specialized exhibitions was also prepared to resolve the bias in the metropolitan area.

Starting next year, based on the 5 poles and 3 special growth engines, we plan to select and intensively support local representative exhibitions that combine local cultural, tourism, and commercial programs.

To this end, the government also increased the related support budget by 4.7 billion won from 7 billion won this year to 11.7 billion won next year.

In addition, we closely support the overseas expansion of domestic exhibition hall operators, focusing on promising strategic markets such as India, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

We are also pursuing revisions to the Exhibition Industry Development Act, including redefining the legal function of exhibitions from existing trade transactions to industrial innovation platforms.

In addition, in response to changes in the industrial environment such as AI conversion (AX) and ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance), we support exhibitors' introduction of AI solutions and operation of eco-friendly exhibition facilities.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan said, "The exhibition industry is a key high value-added industry that drives export expansion and industrial innovation for Korean companies and revitalizes the local economy." He added, "The government, local governments, and the exhibition industry will work together to help the exhibition industry leap forward into a global business platform suitable for the era of $1 trillion in exports."