Suwon City and Gangneung City, which won the ITS Asia-Pacific Conference and World Conference, to cooperate for successful hosting

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jeong Jun-seong] Suwon Special City, which won the bid to host the '2025 ITS Asia-Pacific Conference,' and Gangneung City in Gangwon Province, which won the bid to host the '2026 ITS World Conference,' have agreed to actively cooperate to successfully host both conferences.

Mayor Lee Jae-jun of Suwon and Mayor Kim Hong-gyu of Gangneung signed an MOU at the Suwon Convention Center on the 23rd and promised cooperation.

In the agreement signed that day, Suwon City and Gangneung City decided to jointly promote the Asia-Pacific and World conferences at ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) events held domestically and internationally, and to hold citizen participation and exchange events between the two cities during each conference. They also agreed to cooperate on ITS technology demonstrations and site visits, and to share ways to efficiently operate and activate convention centers.

Mayor Lee Jae-jun of Suwon said, "I hope the ITS Asia-Pacific Conference and World Conference become an opportunity to showcase Korea's strength," and added, "Let Suwon City and Gangneung City share wisdom with each other in preparing for the conferences." He further expressed hope that "Suwon City and Gangneung City are close to each other, and this conference will be an opportunity for the two cities to cooperate even more."

Mayor Kim Hong-gyu of Gangneung said, "Let the two cities actively cooperate so that the ITS Asia-Pacific Conference and World Conference are successfully hosted," and stated, "Let us make the two conferences an occasion to promote Korea's status."

The 2025 ITS Asia-Pacific Conference, co-hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Suwon City, is scheduled to be held at the Suwon Convention Center in May 2025. It will consist of high-level meetings, academic sessions, exhibitions and business consultation meetings, technology demonstrations and site visits, and special programs. It is expected that approximately 10,000 participants from about 20 countries will attend.

The ITS Asia-Pacific Conference, which began in Japan in 1996, is an international conference held by Asia-Pacific region countries to facilitate public-private technology exchanges related to ITS, understand market trends, and strengthen cooperation between nations and companies. The conference is being held in Korea for the first time in 23 years since the 5th Seoul ITS Asia-Pacific Conference in 2002.

Gangneung City presented a 'small and medium-sized city ITS model' and won the bid to host the 2026 ITS World Conference, beating Taipei, Taiwan, making it the third domestic city to host after Seoul in 1998 and Busan in 2010.

ITS is a system that enhances safety and convenience by applying advanced information and communication technology to transportation modes and facilities. Examples include bus information systems and traffic information systems.