The Incheon Metropolitan Government (Mayor Park Chan-dae) is launching a full-scale signature campaign to host the 2028 G20 Summit. The city said it will operate an on-site signature information desk during the World Korean Week events, including the 24th World Korean Business Convention held at Songdo Convensia from September 27 to October 1, to rally the support of 7 million overseas Koreans.
 [코리안투데이] A panoramic view of Songdo Convensia, the venue of the 24th World Korean Business Convention © 장형임 기자 |
Incheon has stepped into the race to bring the 2028 G20 Summit to the city. During the World Korean Week events, the city will set up an on-site signature information desk at Songdo Convensia and collect signatures of support from Korean representatives among the overseas Korean community who have returned to their homeland, as well as from business figures of the Overseas Koreans Agency’s OK BIZ program.
The 24th World Korean Business Convention, which will serve as the stage for the signature drive, is a global business event co-hosted by the Overseas Koreans Agency and Incheon, and stands as a leading international event for overseas Koreans with the participation of some 3,000 business figures from home and abroad. The convention features opening and closing ceremonies and the launch of a corporate exhibition hall, along with an Incheon investment attraction briefing, a Korean business exhibition, one-on-one business consultation sessions, and various cultural experience and industrial tour programs.
At the event, the city plans to intensively promote its airport infrastructure, world-class convention facilities, and proven capacity to run international events. Indeed, Korean representatives of the overseas community taking part in the convention, as well as OK BIZ business figures of the Overseas Koreans Agency, actively joined the signature drive to express their support, calling Incheon the ideal city to successfully host the G20.
A framework to drive the bid has also been set in motion. Centered on the G20 Incheon Bid Task Force, the city is strengthening cooperation with central ministries and related agencies, and is pursuing the identification of key materials by field needed for the bid application, work cooperation with other cities and provinces, on-site inspection responses, and online and offline promotion. Even after the convention, the city will continue the signature drive in connection with festivals in each district and county, while also using new media content such as promotional materials and YouTube Shorts, and running a promotional campaign on electronic display boards along major gateway routes such as the Incheon International Airport Expressway and the Incheon Bridge. The aim is to broaden the shared understanding of 3.05 million Incheon citizens and 7 million overseas Koreans.
Kim Young-shin, Director-General of the city’s International Cooperation Bureau, said, ‘This World Korean Business Convention, which brings together business figures from around the world, is the best stage to prove Incheon’s global MICE capabilities,’ adding, ‘We will do our utmost to ignite enthusiasm for Incheon’s bid to host the 2028 G20 Summit together with the 7 million overseas Koreans.’
The G20 Summit, scheduled to be held in November 2028, will have its host city finalized through a future open competition process. If the bid succeeds, the main sessions will be accompanied by more than 100 days a year of ministerial and working-level meetings, and some 10,000 to 15,000 people, including heads of state, delegations, and journalists from various countries, will visit Incheon. This is expected to go beyond merely hosting an event, leading to the revitalization of the local economy and the enhancement of the city’s brand, and leaving a wide-ranging ripple effect on the daily lives of Incheon citizens and the local industry as a whole.
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