On April 1, the Korean Register (KR) officially released the 24th version of “KR-CON,” its computerized international maritime convention program.

KR-CON is an electronic documentation system that contains an extensive collection of convention documents from the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Since its development in 2000, KR-CON has been widely used by maritime industry experts and government authorities worldwide. The program enables users to quickly access key IMO documents across both desktop and mobile environments and to precisely verify the regulations applicable to individual vessels.

In this 24th version, an AI-powered search function introduced in January 2026 has been applied to the web-based service, and the classification system for convention documents has been reorganized to further enhance search performance. With the upgraded features, users can now access required convention information more quickly and accurately.

As for the new search conditions in the “Convention Today” menu, users can identify applicable conventions based on specific entry-into-force dates, thereby improving both efficiency and the clarity of results. User convenience features have also been enhanced: an expanded display of program update dates and other improvements that allow users to easily identify recently amended documents at a glance.

The KR-CON Ver. 24 incorporates amendments adopted at major IMO meetings held in 2025, including the 34th Assembly, the 110th session of the Maritime Safety Committee, and the 83rd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee. These include updates to key conventions such as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. Updates to future amendments will be made on an ongoing basis.

Kim Hoe-jun, Head of the Convention & Legislation Service Team at KR, said, “The latest upgrade significantly improves accessibility to convention information and search efficiency. We plan to further advance the platform into an intelligent service by introducing Agentic RAG*, enabling AI to autonomously search for and verify information.”
* Agentic retrieval-augmented generation: A next-generation search method that combines autonomous decision-making capabilities with AI technology that retrieves external data to generate answers.

KR-CON is currently available via website, mobile application, USB, and web installation versions, providing IMO conventions, codes, resolutions, and circulars in both Korean and English.

Further details on the KR-CON Ver. 24 can be found on the official KR website and KR-CON website (krcon.krs.co.kr).