Korean Federation of Design Associations (KFDA) Holds '2026 Design Day' Ceremony at the National Assembly

[Financial News] The Korean Federation of Design Associations (KFDA), chaired by Jinkyung Paik, said on the 3rd that it had held the 2nd 2026 Design Day ceremony at the National Assembly on the 2nd to promote the social, economic and cultural value of design.
The event was jointly hosted by the office of Kim Sung-won, chair of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee; the office of Lee Jae-jung, chair of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee; and the office of National Assembly member Kim Sung-hoe of the National Defense Committee. KFDA organized the event.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), the Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP), the Korea Craft & Design Foundation (KCDF), and the Seoul Design Foundation also participated as supporting organizations.
Design is no longer confined to specific industries or professional fields. It is now viewed as playing an important role in enhancing people’s daily lives and quality of life by being deeply connected to a wide range of national policies and administrative affairs—not only in industry, but also in culture, public administration, cities and architecture, agriculture, the economy and national defense.
The 2026 Design Day ceremony took on added significance as an occasion to promote the social, economic and cultural value of design and to share with the National Assembly, the government and the public the role design plays in strengthening national competitiveness and advancing sustainable social development.
The ceremony proceeded with congratulatory remarks from prominent figures from various fields, congratulatory messages from 12 representative design organizations overseas, a declaration commemorating 2026 Design Day, and presentations on the significance of establishing Design Day.
Design Merit Awards were presented to 15 people for their contributions to design. Recipients included Kim Hyun-sun, KFDA's honorary chair and current chair of the Seoul Design Foundation, for her contribution to establishing Design Day; Kookmin University President Jeong Seung Ryul for his contribution to innovation in design education; Design House CEO Young Hye Lee, whose company is marking the 50th anniversary of publishing its design magazine; and Sigong Tech CEO Kim Seung-tae, who raised the profile of Korean design by securing a 97 billion won contract for the Serbia Expo.
The Korean Federation of Design Associations is a leading organization representing Korea's design industry, associations and academic community. It currently has 28 incorporated design-related organizations as members.

A KFDA representative stressed, “We will continue our efforts to make Design Day a meaningful starting point for design to establish itself as a key driver of Korea's new leap forward and future competitiveness, and a valuable opportunity for the National Assembly, the government and the design community to work together to open a new future for Korean design.”
[email protected] Byun Ok-hwan Reporter