News

For the first time in its history, the Australia-Korea Business Council (AKBC) and the Korea-Australia Business Council (KABC) Joint Meeting will be held in Adelaide in 2026, building upon growing economic and trade ties between the two countries.

Korea’s investment into Australia has grown from more than $1 billion to over $23 billion in the past 10 years.

The 47^th Joint Meeting is expected to attract senior government officials and business executives to Adelaide, including 150 delegates from Korea and 100 further delegates from across Australia, for the multi-day event in September 2026.

The event will bring together business, academia and government to deepen engagement and establish new partnerships – particularly in key sectors such as renewable energy and green technologies, defence and space, health and medical innovation, advanced manufacturing, and food and agribusiness.

Australia and South Korea have alternated hosting the event each year since its inception in 1978, with the 2026 event marking the first time it will be hosted in Adelaide.

A flagship event in the Australia and Korea bilateral relationship, hosting the AKBC and KABC Joint Meeting in Adelaide forms part of the South Australian Government’s strategy to foster increased bilateral trade, investment, and cooperation with Korea.

It follows a trade mission to Korea by Trade and Investment Minister Joe Szakacs earlier this year, and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed between the South Australian Government and Samsung Construction and Trading in June 2024, and another with Hyundai Engineering and Construction in October 2024.

These MoUs pave the way for significant collaboration between South Australia and two of Korea’s industrial giants, in renewables, hydrogen, housing and infrastructure.

In the year to July 2025, South Australia exported more $300 million worth of goods to Korea, with meat accounting for nearly half of these exports (up 69 per cent to $147 million).