Ki Yon Kil, president and CEO, Seoul Tourism Organization
Seoul, South Korea, crowned Best Exhibition City (Asia) at M&C Asia Stella Awards 2024, reflects the city’s relentless drive to lead in innovation, collaboration, and sustainability in the MICE industry. Under the leadership of Ki Yon Kil, President and CEO of the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO), Seoul has implemented bold strategies to attract global exhibitions, nurture key industries, and support MICE planners with an unmatched range of services. Ki Yon Kil shares more in the Q&A interview below.
How does Seoul stand out as Asia’s leading exhibition city?
Seoul has been providing financial support and comprehensive services for selected global exhibitions with potential since the establishment of the STO, which has identified the five key industries of AI, robotics, bio, fintech, and creative sectors to focus on. To attract more international exhibitions to Seoul, we are offering financial support programmes and strategic consulting from strategy development to monitoring, which contributes to the capacity building of exhibition organisers and the sustainability of exhibitions.
How does Seoul support MICE planners for business events?
A support system has been established that includes funding for three stages: attraction, promotion, and hosting. For exhibitions with potential to become global leaders, professional consulting and financial support are also provided. As for corporate meetings and incentive tourism, support is available for site visits during the attraction phase, as well as tiered funding based on the number of foreign participants and their length of stay during the hosting phase. A new support system for international events was also established this year, in line with the expansion of the MICE industry.
What new developments are on the horizon for Seoul?
Coex Magok Lewest has opened on 28 November, with convenient accessibility both from Incheon and Gimpo Airports, and will revitalise the MICE industry, establishing itself as a major exhibition and convention centre in Seoul.
This article first appeared in the October-December 2024 issue of M&C Asia as part of the “Trailblazing stars: In celebration of Asia’s top MICE winners” feature. Click here to read more from this issue.