Pohang City Fosters Innovative MICE Industry... Honored with Korea Tourism Policy Grand Prize

Linking Local Industry and MICE Industry Earns High Praise for Driving Cooperation Among Local Businesses and Universities

Mayor Lee Kangdeok: "The MICE Industry Will Be a Catalyst for High Value-Added Creation in the Region"

Pohang City received the Grand Prize in the tourism industry category at the 2nd Korea Tourism Policy Awards 2024 on the 24th for its 'Innovative MICE Industry Promotion Policy Project.'

Lee Gangdeok, mayor of Pohang, delivering a commemorative speech at the POEX groundbreaking ceremony held last July.

The Korea Tourism Policy Awards, hosted and organized by the Korea Tourism Policy Research Association, have been discovering and selecting outstanding tourism policy cases from basic local governments such as cities and counties nationwide each year since last year.

This year, local governments that applied between August 12 and 30 were evaluated by experts based on innovation, feasibility, and effectiveness through preliminary and main reviews, and Pohang City was honored with the Grand Prize after receiving high marks in all categories.

In particular, Pohang City established the Tourism Convention City Promotion Headquarters, a dedicated organization before the construction of the Pohang International Exhibition & Convention Center (POEX), to systematically implement policies to foster the MICE industry and to elevate Pohang as a global MICE city.

The city was also highly praised for linking the steel industry and new growth industries with MICE, as well as for fostering cooperation with local businesses and universities.

Mayor Lee Kangdeok stated, "I hope POEX, which will nurture Pohang's future industries, will become a landmark of Korea and a core hub of the MICE industry," and added, "By generating synergy between the steel industry, secondary batteries, hydrogen, bio, and other new growth industries that will drive Pohang's next 100 years, I expect the MICE industry to serve as a catalyst for creating high added value in the region."

Pohang City began construction of the Pohang International Exhibition & Convention Center (POEX), the core hub of the MICE industry, last July. The center will be built on the former Camp Rivi site of the old US military base in Jangseong-dong, Buk-gu, Pohang, covering 26,608 square meters, with one basement floor and five above-ground floors, totaling six floors and a total floor area of 63,818 square meters.

Main facilities will include a 7,183-square-meter exhibition hall, a convention hall capable of accommodating over 2,000 people simultaneously, 11 small and medium-sized meeting rooms, citizen rest areas, and commercial and office spaces, with completion scheduled for the end of 2026.

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