The ‘World Smart City Expo 2025’ will be held in Busan, with the event scheduled to take place at BEXCO in Haeundae District. The city of Busan was selected alongside BEXCO for the event, as announced on the 2nd. The World Smart City Expo (WSCE), Asia’s largest smart city exhibition, has been organized jointly by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Science and ICT since 2017 to share the latest smart city technologies from around the world. Previously held annually at KINTEX in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, the selection for hosting the event involved a public competition for local governments and convention centers nationwide, with the decision announced on December 30, 2024.
Starting from October 30, 2024, Busan City, in cooperation with institutions such as BEXCO, the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency, and the Busan Tourism Organization, worked proactively to secure the bid. With the Ministry of Land changing the event to a ‘city-centered’ one, Busan successfully emphasized its role as a national pilot smart city, highlighting its proven track record in hosting international events like G-STAR and the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit.
A new strategy for the World Smart City Expo 2025 includes co-hosting the ‘K-ICT WEEK in Busan’ to maximize synergy, incorporating AI Korea, IT Expo Busan, and Cloud Expo Korea, making it the largest ICT event in the southeastern region. This initiative not only showcases cutting-edge technologies leading the AI transformation but also hosts diverse international conferences in quantum information technology and information security, attracting 200 companies and 16,000 visitors in 2024.
Busan’s Mayor, Park Heong-joon, expressed that this selection would serve as a growth platform for Busan to become a global hub city, given its status as a leader in smart city development, ranking 13th globally and 2nd in Asia in the Global Smart City Index. Meanwhile, the upcoming World Smart City Expo in 2024 expects to see participation from over 330 companies from 70 countries and an audience of approximately 39,000 visitors.