Sang-gil Lee, EXCO President, "I Will Create an Open Organization Without Gender, Regional, or Educational Discrimination"

Resolution Rally to Overcome Closure

Efforts to Complete Daegu's Next 50 Years

On the 19th, EXCO held a resolution meeting to overcome the closed nature of Daegu over the past 50 years and to transform into an open organization.

At this meeting, EXCO reviewed the achievements of the first half of the year and stated that it will take the lead in building a global Daegu by resolving key issues in the second half of the year and playing a central role as a MICE hub in line with the construction of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport.

During the regular first-half meeting, EXCO emphasized that to leap forward as a global exhibition and convention center, it must become an ‘open organization flexible to change.’ President Lee Sang-gil reiterated the ‘3 No’s (elimination of gender, regional, and educational background discrimination)’ that he emphasized in his inaugural speech.

Lee Sang-gil, CEO of EXCO, is speaking at the resolution meeting to create an open organization.

Since his inauguration in September 2022, he has stressed the importance of personnel decisions based on ability and new perspectives, excluding employee personnel records, even during his first face-to-face meeting with employees.

In the regular personnel reshuffle in January, EXCO broke the gender stereotype that safety management is a male domain by appointing a female team leader and is seeking solutions to problems through employees’ fresh and new perspectives.

Recently, as a regional public institution, EXCO has contributed to creating a social atmosphere to overcome low birth rates by fostering a culture that encourages childbirth, with improvements in systems such as extending parental leave and reduced working hours during childcare periods, which have spread to local companies. The parental leave period was extended from 1 year to 1 year and 6 months, and the reduced working hours during childcare period from 1 year to 2 years.

The International Green Energy Expo, a major exhibition in the first half of this year, saw a 50% increase in exhibition booth size compared to the previous year. From April 12 for three days, 33,000 visitors from 22 countries attended, and the export consultation meeting, which involved 55 global companies, recorded export consultation results worth a total of $662 million, growing approximately 3.7 times compared to last year. The Daegu Flower Expo, which ended on June 4, attracted a record 38,000 visitors, continuing its reputation as the largest indoor flower expo in Korea.

In the second half of the year, EXCO will mark the first year of Daegu’s five new industries development and expand and strengthen ABB and UAM sectors in exhibitions.

At the MedExpo and Advanced Medical Devices Industry Exhibition starting on the 30th, a large number of healthcare fields linked with ABB will be showcased.

The International Fire Safety Expo, starting on August 30, plans to set up 1,500 booths from 350 companies, the largest scale ever, and will newly establish a special Fire UAM pavilion linked to the UAM demonstration project.

In particular, Nafco, the largest fire equipment manufacturer in the Middle East with which a cooperative relationship was established last May, will set up a large exhibition booth and dispatch a delegation to negotiate securing an Asian hub distribution channel, further solidifying the international status of the domestic fire industry.

At the Daegu International Future Mobility Expo, the scale will be nearly doubled by combining intelligent automobile parts and UAM sectors, and at the Korea ICT Convergence Expo and Daegu International Machinery Industry Exhibition, ICT and robot technologies will be extensively showcased, presenting development directions for the ABB sector to complete the leap as a global exhibition and convention center.

EXCO is also sequentially reinforcing facilities to fulfill its role as a landmark in preparation for the completion of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport. The second exhibition hall, the East Hall, will have meeting rooms expanded by the end of next year to upgrade as a MICE event venue, and infrastructure such as a north deck rest area at the East Hall and a media facade on the wall of the West Hall will be completed by 2026 as regional landmarks.

Lee Sang-gil, CEO of EXCO, said, “All executives and employees will work together until the first steps taken to become an open organization are firmly established,” adding, “Along with the completion of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New Airport, EXCO will actively strive to secure MICE competitiveness and complete Daegu’s future 50 years.”

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