South Korea is hosting the ITS World Congress, often called the Olympics of the transport sector, for the third time. The government plans to use the event to discuss merging transport systems with artificial intelligence-based autonomous driving and other advanced technologies.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the city of Gangneung are holding the 2026 Gangneung ITS World Congress at Gangneung Olympic Park for five days from the 19th through the 23rd. It is the third time the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress has been held in the country, after Seoul in 1998 and Busan in 2010.
The ITS World Congress is an international conference where governments, companies, academics and research institutes in the ITS field share policies and research results and exchange the latest technologies. First held in Paris in 1994, it takes place annually on a rotating basis among Europe, the Americas and Asia, and is also known as the Transport Olympics.
This year's congress is being held under the theme "Beyond Mobility, Connected World." It features 193 academic sessions and 428 exhibition booths, along with technology demonstrations and site tour programs. MOLIT expects the congress to serve as a venue for discussing the convergence of transport systems with advanced technologies such as autonomous driving and digital infrastructure, centered on AI-based ITS.
During the congress, Land Minister Hong Ji-sun will chair a high-level meeting attended by ministers, vice ministers and senior officials from international organizations. The meeting, themed "Future Transport Innovation Through AI-Based ITS," will bring together nine countries — Germany, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, the U.S., Uzbekistan and Vietnam — as well as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the International Road Federation (IRF). Ha Jung-woo, vice chairman of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, will deliver the keynote address, outlining the changes that combining AI and ITS will bring to future transport. MOLIT plans to close the meeting by adopting a core message reflecting a shared understanding of the future direction of ITS and international cooperation.
Hong and Second Vice Minister Jung Eui-kyung will hold bilateral talks with five countries — Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Ireland — and one international organization, UNECE. The talks will cover cooperation in areas including technology and policy exchanges, field testing and joint research. MOLIT plans to hold separate working-level cooperation meetings with the U.S., Japan, Slovakia and the IRF to flesh out the details. Visiting ministers and vice ministers will review ITS operations such as traffic signal control and real-time traffic information management at Gangneung's urban information center, and will try out parking robots and autonomous driving technologies at the technology exhibition.
The Export Plus Support Group, a cross-ministry export support body, will introduce export support and export financing programs to ITS companies and local businesses, together with seven related organizations including KOTRA, the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, the Korea International Trade Association, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation.
Programs for the general public are also on offer. Hands-on programs will showcase smart transfer centers, AI parking guidance and license plate recognition technology, and a light show involving 3,500 drones will be held at 8 p.m. on the opening day, the 19th, in front of the Gangneung Convention Center. An ITS ice show featuring figure skater Cha Jun-hwan and others will be held at 7 p.m. on the 22nd at the hockey center, and a K-music concert will take place at 6 p.m. on the 23rd, the final day.
"ITS is evolving into a key field that is transforming future transport as it combines with advanced technologies such as autonomous driving and AI, going beyond simple traffic management," Hong said. "Using the 2026 Gangneung ITS World Congress as an opportunity, we will showcase to the world the ITS policies and technological capabilities Korea has built up, expand cooperation between countries, and actively support domestic companies in going overseas and creating new business opportunities."