GANGNEUNG — About 100 companies leading the intelligent transport systems (ITS) industry have gathered in Gangneung, Gangwon State, for the 2026 Gangneung ITS World Congress, an event often called the Transport Olympics. The companies presented next-generation ITS technologies that combine artificial intelligence and two-way communications to build safety networks into daily life.
Exhibitions were in full swing at the Gangneung Oval on the 19th. A total of 108 institutions and companies from around the world set up 428 exhibition booths at this year's event. Participants ranged from automakers such as Toyota and Honda to auto parts suppliers including Hyundai Mobis and chipmaker Qualcomm, all showcasing their ITS capabilities.
Lotte Innovate, the main sponsor of this year's congress, drew visitors with a large exhibition hall at the center of the venue. The company built a stage introducing four ITS-related businesses: autonomous shuttles, mobility infrastructure, smart tolling and electric vehicle charging stations. Autonomous driving attracted the most interest. On one side of the exhibition floor stood a controller modeled on a steering wheel, allowing visitors to remotely operate an autonomous shuttle in Daegu, 300 kilometers from the venue.
In mobility infrastructure, Lotte Innovate highlighted an urban safety network based on cooperative ITS, or C-ITS. Conventional ITS relies on one-way communication, with field sensors simply transmitting information to a central control facility. C-ITS, by contrast, pursues two-way communication, with field sensors and the central control facility exchanging information in real time. If an incident occurs on a roadway, for example, nearby sensors collect the information and report it to the central control facility, which then relays it to vehicles near the incident to reduce the risk of accidents. Lotte Innovate has taken part in 21 C-ITS demonstration projects to date, including an autonomous driving project in Gwangju.
Lotte Innovate CEO Kim Kyung-yeop, who met reporters that day, said the company would expand the share of its ITS-related business. "Smart mobility business currently accounts for slightly less than 10% of Lotte Innovate's revenue," the CEO said. "We have set a goal of tripling smart mobility revenue by 2030." The CEO added: "Domestic projects are shifting from demonstrations to full-scale business, and if we also target overseas markets opening up in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, there is plenty of potential."
Exhibits from small and venture companies in Korea also filled the venue. These firms likewise showcased safety management systems built on ITS technology. Radar sensor maker Bitsensing unveiled a communications device that uses radar it developed — the first of its kind in the world — to prompt nearby vehicles to slow down. IT company UT Information demonstrated MDMS, a public safety management software currently being piloted by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. MDMS features vision AI that uses smartphone cameras to recognize surroundings and detect incidents such as fires or traffic accidents within the camera's field of view. The 2026 Gangneung ITS World Congress runs for five days, from the 19th through the 23rd, in and around the Gangneung Convention Center.