Incheon City to Submit 'APEC Summit' Hosting Application on 19th... Host City to Be Selected in June

Incheon City will submit an application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 19th to host the '2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.'

In the application, the city plans to emphasize that it is the optimal city to realize APEC's three main goals: ▲trade and investment ▲innovation and digital economy ▲inclusive and sustainable growth.

Incheon is an investment hub with Korea's largest free economic zone and is home to world-class bio-production companies and semiconductor post-processing firms. It also possesses human and physical infrastructure that APEC can fully utilize, including 15 international organizations and 5 global campuses.

In particular, Incheon International Airport, hotels and convention centers, and the Songdo International Business District provide solid infrastructure. The city also has experience hosting large-scale international events such as the 2018 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) World Forum and the 2023 ADB (Asian Development Bank) Annual Meeting, which are considered strengths.

Incheon City estimates that if it hosts the APEC Summit, the city's brand value will increase, and the direct economic effect will reach approximately 52.3 billion KRW. Additionally, indirect effects are expected to be significant, including a production inducement effect of 1.5326 trillion KRW, a value-added inducement effect of 838 billion KRW, and employment inducement of 20,571 jobs.

APEC Summit Incheon Hosting Promotion Web Image [Provided by Incheon City]

On the 15th, Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok of Incheon met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yeol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building to express a strong commitment to hosting the APEC Summit. Mayor Yoo said, "We request the hosting of the 2025 APEC Summit so that Incheon can leap forward as a new growth axis of the Republic of Korea," adding, "We will spare no effort to mobilize all of Incheon's capabilities and potential to ensure the successful hosting of the summit."

In response, Minister Cho stated, "For the successful hosting of the APEC Summit, cooperation with the host city, which will be the stage for the summit, is crucial. We will do our best to ensure that the optimal city is selected through a fair, transparent, and objective process."

The APEC Summit is an annual meeting attended by leaders and ministers from 21 Asia-Pacific countries, with over 6,000 participants. It is scheduled to be held domestically next November, 20 years after it was last held in Busan in 2005. Initially, Jeju, Gyeongju, and Busan, along with Incheon, expressed interest in hosting, but Busan recently decided not to submit an application.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will close the application period for host cities on the 19th, conduct site inspections and briefing sessions for candidate cities next month, and make the final decision on the APEC Summit host city around June.