Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, "Passenger demand to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels by 2025"

Incheon Airport Regular Media Briefing
"Profit Turnaround Expected from 2023"

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, is conducting a regular media briefing at the airport on the 2nd.

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, forecasted that "the number of international passengers will recover to pre-COVID-19 levels by 2025."

At a regular media briefing held at the airport on the 2nd, President Kim stated, "In 2023, the daily number of passengers is expected to recover to 130,000, leading to a turnaround to profitability." However, he estimated that this year's international passengers would remain at 3.05 million, a 95.3% decrease compared to 2019, the pre-pandemic year, due to flight operation restrictions and weakened travel demand.

He projected that Incheon Airport's finances next year would see total sales of 1.1105 trillion KRW, an increase of 620 billion KRW compared to this year. During the same period, operating losses are expected to be 544.9 billion KRW, and net losses 505.1 billion KRW, reducing the deficit by 375.4 billion KRW and 256.3 billion KRW respectively compared to the previous year. However, the debt ratio is expected to rise to 113%, an increase of 44.6 percentage points from this year's estimate of 68.4%, due to the expansion construction of Incheon Airport's Terminal 2.

President Kim said, "We had expected daily passengers this year to be between 30,000 and 50,000 due to the Delta variant, but it was delayed by about six months," adding, "We will monitor whether the impact of the Omicron variant will be long-term and, for now, take a conservative outlook and establish a tight fiscal plan."

Regarding the timing of duty-free shop bidding amid the spread of Omicron, he explained, "Since the passenger recovery level is still around minus 90%, the current tenant companies can sufficiently cover shopping demand," and added, "We plan to promote duty-free store entry when recovery becomes fully visible."

On the issue of converting non-regular workers at the airport to regular positions, he said, "As dozens of companies are merged into three large companies, post-merger adjustments are necessary, so we will proceed calmly with additional discussions without rushing." He added, "Regularization for 9,785 people has been completed, but the issue remains whether 1,902 security screening subcontractor employees will belong to subsidiaries or the headquarters."

Regarding his achievements during his 10 months in office, President Kim cited attracting overseas MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) operators and taking the first steps toward becoming a cultural and artistic airport. He said, "We have made significant progress in attracting major overseas MRO operators and achieved results by collaborating with the National Museum of Korea and the Hwarang Association to exhibit genuine artifacts and relics."

Meanwhile, concerning former Incheon International Airport Corporation President Koo Bon-hwan, who was dismissed due to poor typhoon response and demotion but recently won a lawsuit to cancel his dismissal, President Kim emphasized, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is expected to appeal. If former President Koo applies to the court for a provisional injunction to resume his duties, the corporation will also take legal action."