ISSA SHOW ASIA 2026, held September 16-18 in Seoul, Korea, brought together professionals, products, technologies, and skills from across the cleaning, hygiene, and facility management industry from across Asia.

ISSA Asia Emerging Leaders of 2026

The Emerging Leaders Program recognizes outstanding professionals who are shaping the future of the cleaning industry through innovation, leadership, and vision. Following the initial evaluation, five finalists were selected.

At ISSA SHOW ASIA 2026, the top five took the stage and shared their experiences, ideas, and visions for the future of the cleaning and facility management industry. After the presentations, two Emerging Cleaning Leaders were selected through on-site judging and voting:

Han Dae-Hee

Manager, Asset Quality & Safety Team, Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd.

Han Dae-Hee entered the cleaning industry after working in telecommunications, when his people-management skills led him to become a cleaning site manager. Many of the employees were older than him, and he learned that a title alone could not earn their trust. He spent time in the field, learned the work, listened to their concerns, and focused on providing support. Within about three months, the team’s attitude changed.

After about two years, employees began asking him technical questions about stain removal and more efficient work methods. Recognizing that his knowledge of cleaning was limited, Han began studying the field and discovered ISSA education. He applied what he learned to operations and shared it with others. After moving to headquarters, he provided training for approximately 200 cleaning employees and worked to develop educational materials that could be understood and applied across different sites.

Han now works as Manager of the Asset Quality & Safety Team at Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd. From the client’s perspective, he collaborates with partner companies to improve professional standards and service quality. His long-term goal is to help cleaning workers receive greater respect and take pride in their work, while helping the cleaning industry develop as a recognized professional field in Korea.

Kim Si-Yeon

Senior, Environmental Technology Team, Misung Mpro Co. Ltd.

Kim Si-Yeon is a Senior on the Environmental Technology Team at MISUNG MPRO, where she oversees and supports approximately 1,800 cleaning employees. Her career has included work as a frontline cleaner, outsourced team leader, site manager, and head-office cleaning manager. This experience has given her a practical understanding of field operations and the challenges faced by cleaning workers.

Her work focuses on improving quality, standardizing and systemizing cleaning operations, supporting sales, and developing junior staff. She has also worked to change how organizations view cleaning management. At a previous company, she expanded ISSA education opportunities for employees in operations management. At Misung Mpro, she helped change the team’s name from Environmental Support Team to Technical Team, emphasizing professional cleaning management and cooperation across departments.

Kim believes AI and automation will influence the industry, while skilled people will remain essential. She emphasizes systematic education, infection control, ESG, technology, and responsiveness to customer needs. Her goal is to reduce the burden on cleaning workers, strengthen their professional skills, and help them receive greater respect. She also wants to support younger professionals and contribute through education and training to establishing cleaning as a recognized and respected professional field in Korea.

In Korea, 22 candidates applied for the program, which was open to applicants aged 45 or younger. The final two leaders were selected through candidate presentations, judges’ evaluation, and on-site audience voting. The result reflected the judges’ evaluation at 70% and on-site audience voting at 30%.

The other three finalists were Shin Ji-Woo, Manager of the FM Hotel Business Team at Valex Service Co. Ltd.; Lee Kyung-Mi, Deputy General Manager of the Operations Support Team at Serviceworld; and Jeon Jeong-Min, CEO of Total Building Care (TB).

ISSA SHOW ASIA 2026 Awards

The ISSA SHOW ASIA 2026 Awards recognized products and solutions presented by exhibiting companies.

• Best Cleaning Equipment Award went to Drift by Life Environment Machinery.
• Best Cleaning Solution Award went to UBM Easy Check by UBM Solution Korea.
• Eco-Friendly and Sustainability Award was presented to the Automatic Stop Pressure Test Machine by Seongbo Hydro Engineering Co. Ltd.
• Robotics Award went to the PUDU BG1 Series by Pudu Robotics.
• Innovative Product of the Year Award went to ALICEONE by Clean.AI, an ISSA member company.
• Judges’ Special Award was presented to the Public Restroom Cleaning Robot by Linux IT.

The award entries were reviewed by a judging panel, with on-site audience voting also included in the evaluation.

Caption: ALICEONE by CleanAI received the Innovative Product of the Year Award at ISSA SHOW ASIA 2026.

Korea Clean Challenge

Korea Clean Challenge tested knowledge and problem-solving skills related to cleaning operations. Ten teams advanced from an online theory preliminary round to the Clean Golden Bell semifinal. Three teams then advanced to the final, which was conducted as an on-site problem-solving challenge.

The final evaluation considered problem analysis and work strategy, work execution, safety and professionalism, final work quality, time management, and teamwork. The total prize money was KRW (South Korean Won) 10 million (approx. US $7,345)

The first-place team was the KIMLEE-KIMLEE team from Valex Service. The name reflects the team’s composition: two members with the family name Kim and two with the family name Lee.

TIME TO COMPANY placed second in the final.

Both Valex Service and TIME TO COMPANY are both recognized ISSA Cleaning Management Institute (CMI) trained member companies, meaning they have access to ISSA’s professional training, certification, and industry standards for cleaning and facility services. The Valex Service team had also completed ISSA CMI Advanced and Accredited Auditing Professional–Certified Workloading Specialist (AAP-CWS) training.

Cleaning Idol placed third. The team represented a small cleaning company and purchased the ISSA CMI textbook from ISSA to prepare for the competition.

Caption: The KIMLEE-KIMLEE team from Valex Service placed first in the Korea Clean Challenge.

Caption: TIME TO COMPANY placed second in the Korea Clean Challenge.

Caption: Cleaning Idol placed third in the Korea Clean Challenge.