South Korea has won her bid for the 23rd International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) World Congress, an event that will welcome approximately 3,500 delegates to Busan from August 20-25, 2026.
The decision was unveiled during the IFAC board meeting on September 8, 2019, in Vienna.
Founded in 1957, the IFAC is focused on automatic control and has representation in the fields of engineering, science and the impact of control technology on society. Its community boasts members from 50 countries.
Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), Busan Tourism Organization (BTO), and Control Robot Systems Society, South Korea’s member of IFAC, supported the bid. On KTO’s part, for example, it conducted site inspections and hosted events such as Korea Night. Earlier in 2018, KTO appointed vice president of IFAC, Cho Dong-il, as an honorary Korea MICE Ambassador.
Oh Choong-sub, head of the convention team at KTO, said: “At international conventions, a large number of experts visit Korea from overseas and conduct academic exchanges. This has significant effect not just on related industries in Korea, but on Korean tourism as well. Particularly, the IFAC World Congress in Busan will have significant impact on the local economy and help to raise global awareness about Korea.”
Previous IFAC congresses were held in France (2017) and South Africa (2014). Next year’s congress will be held in Berlin, Germany.
