[Asia Exclusive] "In 10 Years, I Will Make Juniors Proud Watching Incheon Airport"

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation
"Considering How to Prepare for the Post-COVID Era"
"Strengthening New Growth Businesses Such as Logistics and Aircraft Maintenance"

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 30th. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Yeongjongdo (Incheon) = Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Two key issues have recently occupied the mind of Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation. He is contemplating how to establish an environment that will continuously develop Incheon Airport and how to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era. He aspires to elevate Incheon Airport, which still has room to grow, to the world's top position while preparing new services to adapt to the changing times and secure the future. In a recent meeting at the Incheon International Airport Government Joint Office in Jung-gu, Incheon, President Kim said, "I want the juniors who come in 10 years to feel proud when they see the airport."

The situation is like passing through a tunnel that is still dark, although light is visible in the distance. It means the times are still difficult. Due to the sharp decline in overseas travelers caused by COVID-19, the number of users at Incheon Airport has decreased, resulting in deficits. In 2019, the revenue was KRW 2.7592 trillion with a net profit of KRW 866 billion, but last year, revenue shrank to KRW 490.5 billion. The net loss reached KRW 754.9 billion. As a result, the corporation's executives returned their entire performance bonuses. The corporation expects that with the easing of COVID-19 impacts and its own self-help efforts, monthly profitability may turn positive this year.

President Kim said, "We are reducing expenses through tight management, such as prohibiting arbitrary budget reallocations within departments and returning the budget surplus from bidding differences," adding, "With tight budget management and discovering alternative revenue sources, we aim to achieve monthly operating profit turnaround within the year and manage the debt ratio within 100%."

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 30th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

The slower-than-expected recovery in traveler numbers is a disappointment for President Kim. From July 22 to August 10, the peak summer season this year, the average daily airport passengers were 62,983. The corporation had expected about 85,621. This means about a quarter fewer passengers than predicted. President Kim said, "It seems to be due to psychological burdens from mandatory pre- and post-arrival PCR testing," and analyzed that "conservative quarantine policies in China and Japan, as well as travel cost burdens from high oil prices and exchange rates, are causes."

Despite the still challenging conditions, President Kim sets this year as the time for full operational normalization of Incheon Airport. This is because COVID-19 quarantine policies have been relaxed and the number of travelers is increasing. Especially during the recovery of air travel demand, many overseas airports faced aircraft chaos due to operational deficiencies, so they decided to prepare by reviewing various aspects.

He said, "We plan to achieve full operational normalization to pre-COVID-19 levels within the year by promoting phased normalization based on a daily passenger volume of 60,000," adding, "We will reflect the government's daily recovery policies and recent demand recovery trends, and proactively normalize major airport facilities in line with the summer peak season to enhance passenger convenience." He continued, "Learning from cases of air traffic chaos during demand recovery, we will promptly conduct special facility inspections for reactivation of idle facilities, expand airport operation personnel, and carry out work training through consultations with related agencies."

While normalizing airport operations is for the present, preemptive preparations for the future are also a focus for President Kim. A representative example is the ongoing Incheon Airport Phase 4 construction project. Upon completion, Incheon Airport will have an annual capacity of 106 million passengers. It will become the number one airport in Northeast Asia and rank among the top three worldwide. He said, "This year, we will achieve more than 50% progress on the core task of the Phase 4 project, the expansion of Terminal 2," and added, "We plan to actively promote the expansion of the second transportation center, apron, and access roads."

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 30th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

He also plans to strengthen logistics and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) businesses. Until now, Hong Kong has been mainly recognized as Asia's logistics hub. However, due to political issues and instability, global logistics companies are flocking to Korea because of its geographical advantages. President Kim said, "Global logistics companies want to invest in our airport," and added, "From the perspective of global companies, Korea is in a good location covering East Asia." He continued, "Although Incheon Airport is large in scale, MRO is relatively lagging," and said, "Since the market is large, we are preparing it as a new source of revenue."

Along with this, he envisions strengthening competitiveness as a future airport by introducing Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and autonomous shuttles. First, they plan to establish UAM takeoff and landing sites and operate UAM airport shuttles to actively support the government's UAM commercialization. Also, aiming for 2024, they plan to introduce facial recognition departure services, offering a 'hands-free departure service' that eliminates the need to take out passports or boarding passes during departure or check-in.

He said, "With the introduction of UAM airport shuttles, travel time from downtown Seoul to Incheon Airport is expected to be reduced to about 36 minutes," and added, "By incorporating excellent private sector technologies such as 4th industrial revolution advanced technologies into airport services, we plan to secure a competitive edge in the global hub airport competition and lead the future airport paradigm."

▲ Born 1966 ▲ Seoul National University, Department of Economics ▲ Seoul National University Graduate School, Master's in Public Administration ▲ 2012, Policy Planning Officer, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ▲ 2013, Director of Railway Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ▲ 2014, Secretary for Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Economic Secretary Office, Presidential Secretariat ▲ 2015, Director of Construction Policy Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ▲ 2017, Land Policy Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ▲ 2018, Director of Transportation and Logistics Office, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ▲ 2019, 2nd Vice Minister, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ▲ 2021, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation

Interview by Lee Cho-hee, Head of Industry Department; Organized by Yoo Hyun-seok, Reporter

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.