Seoul City Invests 9.5 Billion Won to Boost MICE... 200 Million Won Support for Medium to Large Events

Up to 280 Million KRW Support for Medium and Large-Scale Events
Opening of 'Global Business Center' in Magok

Seoul City will invest 9.5 billion KRW in the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) industry this year. The goal is to attract high-value MICE tourists by supporting medium to large-scale events held in Seoul with over 200 million KRW and to establish a second specialized MICE industry zone in the southwestern area following the Gangnam area.

On the 18th, Seoul City announced that it will focus on policies centered on maintaining medium to large-scale MICE events, fostering global exhibitions, and expanding corporate incentive tourism to sustain the growth of the MICE industry. MICE refers to corporate meetings, incentive tourism, international conferences, and exhibitions, representing a key future growth industry.

Group photo of Seoul MICE Alliance (SMA). Provided by Seoul City.

Last year, based on its MICE industry promotion policies, the city attracted and supported a total of 330 events, generating an economic ripple effect of approximately 865.5 billion KRW. Additionally, Seoul was inducted into the Hall of Fame after being selected as the "World's Best MICE City" for 10 consecutive years in the 2024 Global Traveler Tested Reader Survey Awards.

First, the city will provide up to 280 million KRW per event to attract medium to large-scale MICE events in internationally recognized fields such as politics, economics, medicine, and engineering. For large-scale competitions or experiential international events in sports and cultural arts, up to 160 million KRW will be supported. Notably, the World Political Science Association Congress will be held in Seoul in July this year, followed by the World Economists Conference in August.

Furthermore, Seoul plans to nurture exhibitions held in the city to the level of the U.S. 'CES' through phased growth support. One-on-one customized consulting will be provided to help establish Seoul as a hub for next-generation promising industry exhibitions such as artificial intelligence (AI), bio, and fintech.

Marketing efforts will also be made to attract incentive tourism demand from global companies in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East to Seoul. Up to 100 million KRW per event will be supported for attracting and hosting related events. Additionally, the 'bleisure' tourism program will be expanded to encourage foreign visitors who come to Seoul for business purposes to stay longer. 'Bleisure' is a portmanteau of 'business' and 'leisure.'

The MICE infrastructure, previously concentrated in the Gangnam area, will be expanded to the southwestern region. In the second half of this year, the 'Seoul MICE Global Business Center' will open within the COEX Magok Convention Center to support networking among global MICE stakeholders. Covering a total area of 209 pyeong, it will feature multipurpose meeting rooms for collaboration among MICE professionals, business consultation rooms, and a global tourism information center.

Finally, aiming to become a 'carbon-zero MICE city,' Seoul will continue its MICE ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives. The city distributed the 'Seoul MICE ESG Operation Guidelines' in April last year and has been promoting policies such as providing additional points for professional consulting and ESG-compliant events.

Seoul City and the Seoul Tourism Foundation will hold an online '2025 Seoul MICE Support Briefing' on the 21st to provide detailed information about support measures.

Gu Jong-won, Director of the Seoul Tourism and Sports Bureau, stated, "To maintain the reputation as the 'World's Best MICE City' for 10 consecutive years, we plan to further enhance Seoul's international competitiveness in the MICE industry through systematic support this year as well."