South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT will hold the 25th World Security Expo (SECON 2026) at KINTEX's first exhibition hall in Ilsan through March 20, it said on Tuesday.

Marking its 25th edition this year, the World Security Expo is South Korea's largest integrated security exhibition covering physical and cyber security. This year, 412 companies and institutions from 19 countries are taking part, with about 1,770 exhibition booths in operation. To showcase the latest technologies and global industry trends, 32 conference tracks and 159 sessions have also been arranged.

The exhibition will present technologies and products in areas such as video security, smart city security, industrial security, public safety and fault diagnosis, in response to changes in the latest IT environment including AI, cloud and big data. More than 20 conferences by topic, industry and job category will be held alongside it, serving as a platform for knowledge sharing and information exchange in the security sector.

The 2026 Security World Conference, to be held on March 19 under the theme "Empowering Trust in the Age of AI", will discuss security strategies in the AI era and measures to protect supply chains amid competition for technological supremacy.

Other events will include the 2026 Quantum Security Conference, which will discuss responses to threats from quantum technology. A range of other security-related conferences will also be held, covering key issues such as industrial security, integrated CCTV control, counterterrorism, and technology transfers for information security R&D.

The expo will also provide a venue to introduce products and solutions from leading South Korean information security companies to overseas markets. For business matching and collaboration, 11 promising South Korean startups in the ICT and security fields will take part in the K-ICT Startup Joint Promotion Hall.

It also arranged an invited buyer business matchmaking consultation, an advisory consultation on overseas expansion for participating companies, and a consultation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance's one-stop export and order support team.

Choi Woo-hyuk (최우혁), director general of the Information Security and Network Policy Office at the ministry, said he hopes the World Security Expo will become a meaningful venue for exchange to advance South Korea's security industry and strengthen global competitiveness. He said the ministry will continue to expand investment in cybersecurity R&D and steadily develop information security systems and policies.