An organizing committee has been launched to host an international Korean language conference that will bring together scholars and related industry workers from around the world later this year.

South Korea's Culture Ministry said the first committee meeting was held Friday attended by Minister Park Yang-woo, the chief of the Society of Korean Linguistics and subcommittee chairs.

They discussed preparations made so far and ways to promote the event.

The inaugural 2020 conference will take place in late October and serve as a platform to further promote the Korean language through exhibitions and symposiums.

In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the event will be held both offline and online. Domestic participants will attend physical meetings while those overseas will take part in sessions via videoconferencing.

Minister Park said the conference is meaningful as it will be the first to gather related scholars and officials to facilitate global exchanges on the Korean language.

He expressed hope the event will expand in the future to also include the publishing and translation sectors and serve as a stepping stone to further promote Korean Wave contents.