Agricultural Machinery Society Successfully Concludes Spring Academic Conference in Jeju Marking 50th Anniversary

[Korea Agricultural Technology Newspaper = Reporter Lee Hyun-woo] (The Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery) opened a celebratory venue marking its 50th anniversary, pledging a new leap forward for the intelligent agricultural machinery industry.

From May 13 to 16, the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery held its '2026 Spring Academic Conference' over four days at Sono Belle Hamdeok in Jeju under the theme '50 Years Into the Future, to the World of the Intelligent Agricultural Machinery Industry Through Convergence'. The event drew a large number of participants from academia and industry at home and abroad, who looked back on past achievements in the agricultural machinery field and shared a blueprint for the next 50 years led by advanced technologies such as autonomous driving, robots, AI and more.

On the 14th, the ‘50th Anniversary International Seminar and Celebration’ drew attention. In the first part, academic societies from China, India, and Indonesia, as well as Chile’s National Institute of Agricultural Research, took part. They shared the policy directions of smart agriculture in their respective countries and strengthened the global cooperation network.

In the second part, domestic and international speakers, including Professor Kim Hyuk-joo of Sunchon National University with his presentation ‘50 Years of Agricultural Machinery History Grown Alongside the Development of the Republic of Korea’, continued presentations on the theme of 'The Past, Present, and Future of Agricultural Machinery', and in the third-part celebration, a 50th anniversary vision declaration ceremony and cake-cutting were held.

President Jeong Seon-ok(professor at Chungnam National University) said in her remarks, "Since its founding in 1976, our society has played a pivotal role in farm mechanization policy and contributed to national development," adding, "Amid the crises of rapid technological advancement and labor shortages, we will prepare for the next 50 years by creating new breakthroughs through intelligent robots and smart precision agriculture technologies," emphasizing the point.

At the Spring Academic Conference, programs that added academic depth, including special lectures on advanced technologies such as AI·robots, were also well organized. On the opening day, the 13th, technical special lectures were held on highly practical topics such as △understanding and hands-on practice of physical AI -based agricultural robots △data-based agricultural AI and intelligent agricultural systems △application of smart farm CFD, drawing strong interest from attendees.

Full-scale paper presentations were held on the 15th across 6 divisions, with a total of 252 latest research results presented, including 111 oral presentations and 141 poster presentations, making it the largest conference ever. In particular, not only universities but also national research institutes and companies participated evenly, adding significance to industry·academia·research cooperation.

Practice-oriented special sessions also stood out. △Knowledge-sharing workshop on smart agricultural and livestock product distribution and storage technologies △Fostering professional personnel for the dissemination of agricultural machinery field technologies △ODA-linked strategies for K-agricultural machinery to enter global markets △AgTech companies’ strategies for entering global markets, among a total of 7 sessions, created a venue for practical discussion where policy and industry intersected. The society appears likely to support the discussions derived from this conference so that they can lead to tangible results through future policy forums and other follow-up efforts.

Meanwhile, building on the momentum of this spring conference, the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery plans to hold ISMAB together with its fall academic conference in Busan this coming October.