President of Chile and Prime Minister of Singapore Arrive in Gyeongju for APEC by KTX

Major Dignitaries Boarded KTX Trains During APEC
Six Months of Preparation and 24-Hour Emergency Response Teams
46 Additional KTX Stops and 14% Increase in Gyeongju Station Passengers

Korail announced on the 2nd that it had successfully completed its railway operations during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, safely supporting the use of KTX trains by major foreign dignitaries, including the President of Chile and the Prime Minister of Singapore, without any incidents.

From the 27th of last month until the day of the announcement, which was designated as a special transportation period, Korail operated additional KTX trains and maintained a 24-hour emergency response system for approximately 20,000 participants. In particular, Korail provided specialized protocol services and safety management tailored to the movements of international leaders and VIPs. Multilingual crew members were deployed, and additional foreign language announcements were made to ensure that major foreign guests, such as the President of Chile, the Prime Minister of Singapore, and ministers from Mexico and Australia, could use the trains without inconvenience.

President Lee Jae-myung is posing for a commemorative photo with leaders from various countries, wearing scarves made from hanbok fabric, at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held on the 1st at the Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center (HICO).

Front row from left: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, President Gabriel Boric of Chile, President Xi Jinping of China, President Lee, President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of New Zealand.

Back row from left: Chief Executive John Lee of Hong Kong, Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso of Papua New Guinea, First Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk of Russia, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong of Singapore, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul of Thailand, President V? V?n Th??ng of Vietnam, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen of the United States, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Teresa Merino of Peru, Minister of Economy Marcelo Ebrard of Mexico, Senior Advisor to the President Lin Hsin-yi of Taiwan.

Photo by Yonhap News Agency

To ensure safety, Korail operated its own emergency response teams, consisting of passenger, facility, and train experts, 24 hours a day at major stations such as Gyeongju, Seoul, and Busan during the summit. Train specialists were assigned to every KTX train stopping at Gyeongju Station to prepare for unexpected situations, and recovery equipment and materials were stationed on-site. At Gyeongju Station, Korail worked in cooperation with the Presidential Security Service, the military, the police, the fire department, and the Railway Special Judicial Police, conducting joint inspections for explosives to preemptively block any potential terrorist threats. To this end, Korail had established the 'APEC Transport Support Task Force' since April to build a response system for unusual situations.

To enhance transportation efficiency, Korail increased the number of temporary KTX stops at Gyeongju Station by 46, operating a total of 360 stops over the seven days from the 27th of last month until the day of the announcement. In addition, 42 temporary ITX-Maum trains were operated between Bujeon Station in downtown Busan, Gyeongju, and Pohang, with six trains (three in each direction) running daily. Thanks to these transportation support measures, the number of passengers using Gyeongju Station from October 10, after the Chuseok holiday, until November 1 reached 255,981, a 14% increase (31,280 more passengers) compared to the same period last year.

During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, an information staff member dressed as a character from the animated film "K-Pop Demon Hunters" is introducing the event to foreign visitors at a promotional booth set up by Korail at Gyeongju Station. Korail

Korail also promoted 'K-culture' during the summit. APEC promotional videos were shown at 13 major stations, including Seoul Station, and KTX first-class amenities featuring the Cheomseongdae image were produced. 'KTX-Blue Dragon Mini Lego Goods' were presented to summit participants at Seoul and Gyeongju stations. At the Gyeongju Station promotional booth, souvenirs from the National Museum of Korea and goods from a tourism contest were sold. Staff dressed as characters from "K-Pop Demon Hunters" were also deployed, attracting the attention of foreign tourists.

Jung Jungrae, Acting President of Korail, stated, "Through thorough preparation, we successfully supported the APEC Summit without a single incident," adding, "We will continue to build world-class railway service capabilities to support national events."