Incheon confident about hosting 2025 APEC summit
Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok / Courtesy of Incheon Metropolitan City
Incheon is fully prepared to host the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, as it provides the ideal platform to advance the values that APEC seeks to promote, the city's Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said.
“Incheon is home to Korea’s biggest free economic zone, world-class biopharmaceutical plants and semiconductor packaging firms, 15 international organizations and global universities,” Yoo said in a written interview with The Korea Times, Monday.
“The city also features convenient infrastructure, including Incheon International Airport, convention centers and hotels, as well as having a wealth of experience hosting international meetings such as the 2018 OECD World Forum. This shows that Incheon is the optimal place to realize APEC’s goals, including trade and investment promotion, innovation, inclusivity and sustainable growth.”
His confidence comes as the city is vying with Jeju and Gyeongju to host the meeting, also called APEC summit, next year. Korea, which previously held the 1991 meeting in Seoul and 2005 meeting in Busan, was again selected as the host country of the 2025 edition. The central government finished reviews of the three candidate cities and the result will be announced within this month.
APEC is a 21-member multilateral economic cooperation body, aimed at assisting economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. It represents 40 percent of the world’s population, 59 percent of global gross domestic product, and 50 percent of trade volume, making it the largest regional cooperation body in the world.
APEC holds annual summits in a member country's city over the course of one week in November, featuring a series of meetings between ministers and senior government officials, as well as business gatherings spanning more than 100 days. These events attract approximately 6,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, and entrepreneurs each year.
Songdo Convensia, which will be the main venue of Incheon's bid to host the 2025 APEC summit / Courtesy of Incheon Metropolitan City
"We assume that the summit will generate 2.4 trillion won ($1.73 billion) in economic value and create more than 20,000 jobs," Yoo said. "Furthermore, it will widely promote the city’s reputation to the world, bringing it closer to the goal of becoming a world-class city."
Yoo says the city’s infrastructure is its greatest competitive advantage over its rivals.
Incheon, home to Incheon International Airport, is the main gateway to Korea and boasts convention centers, mega resorts, and hotels equipped with rooms capable of hosting national leaders.
“In terms of hotels, heads of state require spacious rooms that can provide spaces for private conferences, receptions and other functions,” the mayor said. “Our competitor cities have limited supplies of such facilities, while hotels in Incheon are already fully equipped with such facilities. There are six five-star hotels and 41 presidential suites within a 30-minute range by car from the event’s main venue.”
In addition to hotels, Songdo Convensia, anticipated to be the main venue should Incheon host the event, is an exhibition center certified by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, which highlights the city’s expertise and experience in hosting global events, he said.
Incheon hosted the 2014 Asian Games, the 2018 OECD World Forum and the 56th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank last year.
Incheon Metropolitan Council members walk to promote the city's bid to host the 2025 APEC summit during a parade in Namdong District, Incheon, May 31. Yonhap
Foreign communities in the city are also rooting for Incheon’s bid to host the APEC summit.
Songdo Foreign Advisory Board, an expat community based in Songdo, Incheon, is running various campaigns to support the city’s bid, with its head, Soleiman Dias, director of admissions at Chadwick International, telling Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority that the city is the ideal location to host APEC because it not only boasts excellent infrastructure, security, and diplomatic significance, but also represents Korea’s economic and cultural strengths.
“It is Incheon’s overwhelming advantage to secure a foundation for economic, cultural, and human exchanges with APEC member countries, and to contribute to the the revitalization of the national and regional economy through strategic cooperation in emerging key technology sectors such as biotechnology and semiconductors,” Yoo said.
“It will be Incheon’s first summit involving heads of states and will be a significant growth engine for Korea’s economic development. It will provide a foundation for Incheon to leap into the ranks of the world’s top 10 global cities. We will strive to fully utilize the city's capabilities and potential to host the event.”
Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, center, poses with Formula One Group CEO Stefano Domenicali, second from left, at Suzuka Circuit in Japan, April 6, after handing over Incheon's letter of intent to host a Formula One race. Courtesy of Incheon Metropolitan City
Along with the APEC summit, Incheon seeks to host the Formula One Grand Prix in the city to attract more visitors and create economic value.
In April, Yoo visited the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit in Japan and presented a letter of intent from Incheon to host a Formula One race to Formula One Group CEO Stefano Domenicali.
Last month, he visited Monaco and met Jarno Zaffelli, CEO of Formula One circuit design company Dromo, and signed working-level agreements and discussed conditions for signing an MOU or contract with Formula One officials. Incheon plans to submit its official proposal to Formula One within this year.