Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon

By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

A convention belt will be established in southern Seoul as part of the city's effort to boost the convention industry.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said in an interview that the city plans to set up convention centers and facilities in the area from Jamsil Sports Complex in southeastern Seoul to COEX and the Seoul Trade Exhibition Center (SETEC) in southern Seoul.

``The capacity of Seoul's convention facilities is full. COEX holds conventions that reach 85 percent of its capacity, which is `overbooked' according to the international criteria. We missed some international conventions due to lack of facilities although the organizers wanted to hold their events in Seoul,'' Oh said.

He said the city has already started discussing the details of establishing a convention belt, which will include COEX, SETEC, Seokchon Lake in Jamsil, the sports complex and nearby parking lots along the Tan Stream that flows into the Han River.

The sites of SETEC and the parking lots belong to the city government, so the city will offer the sites and private companies will build convention facilities there, he said. The convention belt will be developed into not only a convention mecca but also an entertainment complex with shopping malls, game centers and leisure and sport facilities.

``With moorings for small ships in the Tan Stream nearby, the development will be linked to the `Han River Renaissance' project, which is aimed at transforming the river basin into a belt of culture, ecology and tourism,'' Oh said.

Seoul's convention facilities are far behind those in other competing cities. The city's two main convention facilities, COEX and SETEC, can provide up to 43,000 square meters of floor space, while Beijing and Shanghai each has seven facilities on 220,000 square meters and 364,000 square meters of land, respectively.

Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau, which already have much larger convention facilities than Korea, are developing the industry.

Besides the convention facilities, the city is promoting the establishment of casinos there to invite more foreign visitors. Seoul aims to attract 12 million foreign visitors every year by 2010.

``Some people oppose casinos for its negative effects of gambling, but we need them to boost tourism and good management will prevent the negative aspects,'' Oh said, adding that Chinese people will soon become the major visitors to Seoul and casinos are essential to attract them.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr