Invest SEOUL Joins the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA)

- Establishing its standing as a global investment promotion agency and accelerating international visibility

SEOUL, South Korea, June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Invest SEOUL has officially joined the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) as a full member.

WAIPA is an international organization established to foster cooperation among investment promotion agencies (IPAs) worldwide and to promote foreign direct investment (FDI). It comprises approximately 170 member IPAs from some 130 countries.

With its admission as a full member of WAIPA, the Invest Seoul is now able to participate officially in WAIPA's General Assembly and a wide range of international events. Through these platforms, the Invest Seoul will be positioned to directly showcase Seoul's investment environment and successful FDI cases to global IPAs, multinational corporations, and international organizations. In addition, the Invest Seoul will gain access to WAIPA's database of best practices in investment promotion at both the city and national levels, and will be able to conduct reference checks and investor matching through local IPAs during the investor identification process enabling more effective investment — promotion activities.

By featuring and promoting Seoul's best practices in WAIPA's publications and official communication channels, the Invest Seoul aims to effectively showcase Seoul's competitiveness to global investment promotion agencies and investors, thereby raising the international profile of the Invest Seoul and enhancing the value of Seoul's city brand.

Invest SEOUL plans to participate in WAIPA's flagship annual event, the World Investment Conference (WIC), to expand exchanges with government officials, investment promotion agencies, global corporations, and international organizations from around the world.

This year's conference, marking WAIPA's 30th anniversary, will be held in Geneva, Switzerland in November, where participants will discuss shifts in the global investment landscape and ways to promote sustainable investment.

Leveraging the network of fellow member agencies, Invest SEOUL intends to broaden opportunities to promote Seoul's sector-specific investment strategies and the city's overall appeal as an investment destination, while actively pursuing joint global investment promotion initiatives.

Jihyung Lee, CEO of the Invest SEOUL, stated, "Invest Seoul has joined WAIPA to strengthen our global presence and build strong partnerships with member agencies." He added, "Seoul is powered by future strategic industries AI, robotics, biotechnology, quantum computing and Creative Industries as our key growth engines. We look forward to opening new avenues for sustainable investment cooperation and welcome you to Seoul as our valued friends and partners."