K-SAFETY EXPO 2026 has opened in Busan (2-4 September), bringing together 340 companies and organisations across 920 booths as South Korea looks to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and drones to strengthen disaster prevention and develop its safety industry as a new growth engine.
Hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety together with Busan Metropolitan City, the three-day exhibition runs from Sept 2 to 4 at BEXCO Exhibition Center 1 under the theme “Convergence of Advanced Technology, the Future of Safety.”
Now in its 12th edition, K-SAFETY EXPO was launched in 2015 to showcase disaster and safety technologies developed by Korean companies while helping businesses expand into international markets.
The commercial potential of the event has grown alongside the industry. Last year’s exhibition attracted 39,854 visitors and generated 798 business consultations over three days, with potential contracts under discussion valued at KRW351.4 billion.
This year’s event places greater emphasis on the convergence of emerging technologies with disaster management and industrial safety, reflecting growing demand for technology-based responses to climate-related disasters, workplace hazards and other risks.
AI And Robotics Move Into Safety Applications
A dedicated Advanced Safety Technology Pavilion features 131 companies across 256 booths, showcasing technologies involving AI, robotics, drones and other advanced systems.
Among the technologies highlighted is an AI-based real-time urban flooding prediction platform developed by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information.
The Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence is showcasing robots designed for industrial and fire-safety inspections, while Liberaware is exhibiting ultra-compact drones developed for indoor inspections.
An international Global Pavilion features 22 companies from nine countries, including Japan, China and Germany, across 28 booths.
The wider exhibition is divided into six areas covering natural disasters, safety in daily life, public security, fire and rescue, industrial safety, and transportation and maritime safety.
Public-sector exhibition areas representing Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province are also participating, with the initiative intended to provide regional disaster-safety companies with greater market exposure.
Visitors can meanwhile take part in practical demonstrations through a Safety Experience Zone covering workplace incidents such as entrapment and electric shocks, as well as cardiopulmonary resuscitation training.
Other attractions include virtual reality-based industrial safety and safe-driving experiences through Hyundai Motor’s mobile safety experience vehicle, as well as a vehicle rollover accident simulation operated by the Korea Expressway Corporation.
International And Domestic Buyers Invited
Beyond technology showcases, organisers are strengthening the exhibition’s business-matching component to help participating companies secure customers and expand internationally.
Working with KOTRA, the Korea Disaster Safety Industry Technology Association and the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership, organisers have invited 100 international buyers and 83 domestic buyers for tailored one-on-one export and procurement consultations.
The Global Business Forum will also bring together policymakers, international organisations, companies and industry experts to discuss disaster-safety policy, international cooperation and technological developments, including Physical AI.
Participants are expected to include the ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General and the head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, alongside government officials from countries including Cambodia.
A further 42 academic and professional conferences, including the International Seminar on Disaster Management Cooperation, will take place alongside the exhibition to discuss policy developments and research.
South Korean Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-jung said increasingly complex disaster patterns associated with climate change — including heavy rainfall, heat waves and droughts — were making safety both a public responsibility and an economic opportunity.
“Safety is both a fundamental value that the state must protect and an industry that Korea should foster as a new growth engine,” Yoon said.
“Through this exhibition, we will help Korean companies with advanced technologies expand into global markets and create a virtuous cycle in which corporate growth contributes to a safer society.”
He said South Korea intends to foster the safety industry as one of its key future industries, positioning technological innovation and international market expansion at the centre of that strategy.
