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•  Over 3000 participants from 50 countries expected to attend the world's largest nuclear science and electronic engineering conference
• Seoul announces its 14th mega conference win of 2009

Seoul, South Korea - On October 31st, in Orlando Florida, at this year's 2009 IEEE[1] NSS/MIC, Seoul successfully won the 2013 conference bid over Beijing, China. This annual conference attracts more than 3000 nuclear scientists and medical imaging professionals from over 50 countries around the world. In 1990 the IEEE conference was the largest conference held in the US, and in 2013 Seoul will become host of the first conference to be held in Asia.

This Conference is hosted by the Seoul chapter of the IEEE NPSS[2] and supported by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO). The Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB), a division of STO worked closely with the local Korean IEEE chapter to provide a wide range of support services for the 2013 IEEE bidding, including; the initial bidding process, written proposal consulting and financial support. The SCB arranged a visit to Seoul by the IEEE NPSS president and staff at received the full backing of the City of Seoul at a meeting arranged with the vice mayor. Site inspections and a welcoming banquet hosted by Samuel Koo, the CEO of the STO were also provided for the visiting guests.

Kim Hee Joong, the IEEE NPSS chairman of the Seoul branch, stated "The conference historically has been predominantly held in either Europe or the United States, so we are very excited to be the first to host this event in Asia". Kim continued "We are honored and very pleased to host this major event, which testifies to the expertise of Korea's nuclear science and medical imaging technology specialists, whom have long deserved this international recognition."

So far this year, Seoul has won the bids to host 14 mega events (involving over 1000 participants) including the 2011 OECD Ministerial Meeting (+2000 participants), the 2013 International Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (IFOS) Congress (+5000 participants), and the 2014 International Mathematical Union (IMU) Congress (+5000 participants).

Seoul is currently the world's 7th busiest convention city in the world, hosting 125 international conferences in 2008, according to the Union of International Association (UIA) 2009 report (see UIA statistics below).

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has designated the convention industry as one of the key strategic industries to boost its economy. The convention industry is also a great way for Seoul to enhance its international image and awareness abroad.

Top International Meeting Cities in 2008  

1	Singapore	637
2	Paris	419
3	Brussels	299
4	Vienna	249
5	Barcelona	193
6	Tokyo	150
7	Seoul	125
8	Budapest	116
9	Copenhagen	104
10	London	103
31	Busan	60
38	Jeju	53

 

Seoul's UIA Results for International Meetings (2006 ~ 2008)

Year	Number of Meetings Held	International Ranking	Asian Ranking
2006	89	11	2
2007	121	9	3
2008	125	7	3

 

 UIA Meeting Criteria

According the UIA a qualifying meeting must be longer than two days and be attended by over 300 people from more than five different countries.