KINTEX, Premiere Int'l
Exhibition Center
- Its opening coincides with the start of Seoul Motor Show 2005

Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) made its debut as Korea's largest exhibition facility. The opening of KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, North of Seoul was highlighted with the start of Seoul Motor Show 2005.
KINTEX has enabled Korea to secure enough exhibition and convention space corresponding to the size of the Korean economy, which now ranks in the top 10.
The new exhibition center, a 40-minute drive from Incheon International Airport, is expected to contribute to building up an infrastructure for developing an international business and logistics hub of Northeast Asia together with the Incheon Free Economic Zone (FEZ), awaiting massive foreign investments.
KINTEX will likely expedite the development of the surrounding area, thus contributing to advancing to the development of the Northwestern region of Gyeonggi Province. It is also expected to bring about balanced regional development in the Seoul Metropolitan area by connect with the Paju LCD industrial estate, now under construction, and Gaeseong industrial complex, being built as a model of inter-Korean economic collaboration projects.
In his speech during the opening ceremony, President Roh Moo-hyun said chances are high that the northwestern region of the Seoul Metropolitan area could develop into an economic hub of Northeast Asia with KINTEX and Incheon serving as centers of transportation and logistics, and Paju LCD complex as an industrial base, and KINTEX would play leading roles in the area.
President Roh said the government would work out a detailed plan to foster the convention industry, which is essential for advancing the Korean economy to an advanced one, as a strategic industry, and it will actively support a plan to enhance KINTEX as one of the largest convention centers in Northeast Asia.
The current size of KINDEX, covering 53,000 sq. meters, is equivalent to six times as large as the soccer field. Its construction cost 231.5 billion won, which was shouldered evenly by the government, the Gyeonggi provincial government and Goyang municipal government.
KINTEX is 1.5 times as large as COEX, Korea's exhibition birthplace in Samseong-dong, Seoul.
KINTEX's exhibition space will triple to 178,200 sq. meters (44,000 pyeong) if and when the second and third expansion projects are completed by 2013.
The newly opened exhibition center is larger than other exhibition centers around the world in terms of facility and infrastructure. It is equipped with pillar-free exhibition space that can be multilayered and dived into five halls to accommodate diverse tastes of exhibitors. The exhibition space can also be converted to a 15-meter-high two-tier exhibition booth. It is also capable of displaying such oversized, heavy-weight equipment as well as submarines and airplanes as the exhibition space is designed to sustain 5 tons of weight per cubic meter.
The convention center is equipped with 2,000-pyeong large-sized conference room and 23 mid and small-size others. KINTEX is also furnished with an intelligent building system (IBS) and video conferencing and simultaneous interpretation services in eight languages are available.
All facilities within KINTEX have mobile Internet access, and all information, including exhibition and convention schedules and transportation, can be obtained via individuals' cellular phones and exhibition terminals.
KINTEX has already managed to attract some 40 exhibitions, international and domestic, scheduled during the year, including Seoul Motor Show 2005, which coincided with the opening of the exhibition center. They include Seoul Int'l Food Exhibition slated for May 17-20, 2005 World Museum Culture Expo, scheduled for July 1-August 21, International Road & Traffic Expo 2005, slated for July 7-10, and Korea Electronics Show 2005 (KES 2005) scheduled for October 11-15.
The exhibition center is operated by KINTEX, a joint venture by the Gyeonggi provincial government, Goyang municipal government and KOTRA. Its economic spill-over effects are estimated at 403.4 billion won in revenues for this year on top of employing about 10,440 people. nw