Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Global crowd from 75 countries packs Korea Business Expo Gangseo
Jin Gyo-hoon, right, chief of the Gangseo District Office, speaks with a company official at the 2026 Korea Business Expo Gangseo in Coex Magok, western Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Gangseo District Office
By Jung Min-ho
Gangseo positions district as Seoul’s next international commercial hub
Clusters of overseas buyers and Korean exporters packed the aisles of Coex Magok on Tuesday, as Gangseo District used the 2026 Korea Business Expo Gangseo to pitch itself as a rising international business hub.
Under banners reading “Gangseo Innovation Pavilion” and “Seoul Pavilion,” rows of booths buzzed with simultaneous meetings in Korean, English and other languages while company representatives flipped through catalogs and demonstrated products on tablet screens.
The expo, staged in collaboration with the 27th World-OKTA Leaders Convention, organized by the largest global business network for the Korean diaspora, brings together roughly 300 Korean companies and about 1,200 overseas buyers from 75 countries.
The program is built around export consultations and on-site deals, with district officials and World-OKTA saying that the event is designed to generate concrete contracts rather than just business card exchanges.
Speaking to reporters, Jin Gyo-hoon, district chief, said the expo is part of a broader plan to remake Gangseo into a new “future economic” hub in Seoul that combines research clusters, logistics and culture. He highlighted Coex Magok’s proximity to Gimpo and Incheon airports as well as hotels, saying participants had widely praised the venue’s accessibility.
“This expo is more than just an economic event; it is an opportunity to showcase Gangseo District’s remarkable transformation and Korea’s dynamism to overseas Koreans and buyers around the world,” Jin said. “By successfully hosting this expo, we aim to take a leap forward as ‘expo city.’”
Visitors walk through the Seoul Pavilion section of the 2026 Korea Business Expo at Coex Magok in Gangseo District, Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Jung Min-ho
According to officials, about 300 booths were set up by the Gangseo office and other local governments and agencies, with companies grouped into beauty, lifestyle, ICT and industrial equipment zones to match them more efficiently with potential buyers. Organizers said the layout was intended to help visitors navigate quickly to the products they were seeking.
Along the edges of the hall, designated consultation areas filled up with one-on-one discussions as Korean companies sat down with overseas buyers to discuss potential deals.
Drawing on its status as an artificial intelligence (AI)-specialized district, Gangseo also hosted a global AI startup competition as part of the expo, giving 24 selected firms a chance to pitch to international investors and judges. District officials said they expect the event to help promising startups sharpen their business capabilities and tap overseas markets, reinforcing the expo’s role as a launchpad for future growth industries.
World-OKTA Chairman Park Jong-bum said the AI component is one of the features that sets this year’s gathering apart.
“Given that the current government has a vision of making Korea at least one of the world’s top three AI powers in new AI-related industries, we have in fact been running preliminary rounds for this AI startup competition for about three months,” he said. “Some companies are already attracting multi-billion-won investment commitments, which shows how much concrete business can come out of a meeting like this.”
Inside the expo venue, Gangseo also sought to showcase its cultural credentials to visitors. An art fair featuring works by local artists, including members of the Gangseo Art Association, highlighted the district’s identity as the hometown of “Donguibogam” author Heo Jun (1539-1615) and the posting place of Joseon-era landscape painter Jeong Seon, also known as Gyeomjae, whose legacies are preserved at the Heo Jun Museum and the Gyeomjae Museum of Art.