'APEC Gyeongju Hosting Battle' at Stake... Gyeongbuk Province, Pohang, and Gyeongbuk Tourism Corporation Join Forces

"International Flights at Pohang Gyeongju Airport"

Inspection Teams from 3 Candidate Cities Arriving Soon

On the 14th, Gyeongbuk Province signed a business agreement at the provincial government office's Sarim Room with Pohang City, Gyeongju City, Korea Airports Corporation Pohang Gyeongju Airport, and Gyeongbuk Culture and Tourism Corporation to support the bid for the 2025 APEC Gyeongju and to operate international charter flights at Pohang Gyeongju Airport.

Attending the signing ceremony were Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province; Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju City; Jang Sang-gil, Vice Mayor of Pohang; Jang Jae-ho, Airport Director of Pohang Gyeongju Airport; and Kim Nam-il, President of Gyeongbuk Culture and Tourism Corporation.

Representatives from five organizations, including Gyeongbuk Province, Pohang City, Gyeongju City, Gyeongbuk Culture and Tourism Corporation, and Pohang Gyeongju Airport, are signing a business agreement to attract APEC to Gyeongju.

The main contents of the agreement include supporting the bid to host the 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju, and if selected, operating international charter flights at Pohang Gyeongju Airport to ensure safe and smooth entry for APEC leaders and delegations.

Additionally, the agreement includes cooperation in attracting and gathering international and domestic tourists arriving via international flights at Pohang Gyeongju Airport, as well as mutual cooperation in opening new international routes.

Currently, Gyeongju City in Gyeongbuk Province, Incheon Metropolitan City, and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, which have submitted bids to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, are engaged in a fierce competition, and the on-site inspection team for the APEC Summit host city will visit the three candidate cities.

With this agreement ceremony, Gyeongbuk Province, ahead of the site inspection by the selection committee, has united five institutions?Pohang City, Gyeongju City, Pohang Gyeongju Airport, and the Tourism Corporation?centered on the airport adjacent to the host city, which will play a crucial role in the entry and exit of leaders and delegations from each country, to stake everything on the bid.

Gyeongju City, the ancient capital of the Silla Dynasty with a thousand years of history and culture, is a city where splendid historical culture breathes, the entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage City, representing the most Korean city in South Korea, and is the only city in the country listed among the world's top 100 tourist cities visited by people worldwide.

As a global tourist city, Gyeongju City is the only basic local government to have issued the noble challenge of bidding to host the APEC Summit. However, Pohang Gyeongju Airport, adjacent to it, is a domestic-only airport, causing difficulties for foreign tourists visiting, making improvements necessary at this time.

Accordingly, Gyeongbuk Province plans to propose to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport an amendment allowing the provincial governor to approve the operation of international charter flights at domestic-only airports, in accordance with the Ministry’s guidelines on “Approval Procedures for International Charter Flights at Domestic-Only Airports,” which currently require approval from central government ministries (Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, etc.) for international charter flight operation conditions, to promote international flights at local airports for attracting foreign tourists and revitalizing the regional economy.

Furthermore, they plan to submit opinions on regulatory improvement tasks and the 4th Basic Aviation Policy Plan (’25 ~ ’29), which aligns with the policy goal of the local era led by local governments and supported by the central government.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “Gyeongju’s challenge to host the APEC Summit most aligns with the government’s national goals of inclusive growth and balanced development in the local era that APEC pursues. If there are outdated government guidelines and regulations that limit the growth potential of the local tourism industry to support this, they need to be improved.” He added, “Gyeongbuk will take the lead in changing the landscape of South Korea to create a local era where it is good to live anywhere in the country.”