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Coex: Seoul’s Premier Exhibition Hall Leading the Way in MICE Industry

Coex, a prominent exhibition and convention center located in Seoul, South Korea, stands as a shining example of innovation and excellence in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry. In recent years, Coex has redefined its mission, focusing on connecting and providing experiential value through industry exchanges and the integration of AI. This forward-thinking approach has propelled Coex to the forefront of the MICE industry, making it a platform that drives the activation and future growth of this sector.

A Remarkable Year of Recovery

The year 2023 marked a significant milestone for Coex, as it played a pivotal role in the recovery of the MICE industry. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Coex hosted 27 domestic exhibitions and 9 international exhibitions, achieving an annual revenue exceeding 1 trillion KRW. This remarkable feat surpassed the pre-pandemic revenue levels of 2019, showcasing Coex’s resilience and adaptability.
Notably, the InterBattery exhibition held in March emerged as one of the largest secondary battery industry events in South Korea, with participation from over 470 companies, including global top-three battery manufacturers. The event attracted an unprecedented 60,000 visitors, setting a new attendance record. In June, Coex ventured into the international arena by hosting “InterBattery Europe” in Germany, facilitating the entry of Korean battery companies into the European market. Furthermore, September saw the simultaneous hosting of the KiAF SEOUL and the world’s second-largest art fair, Frieze, drawing more than 10,000 international visitors to Coex. Finally, in November, Coex hosted Food Week, the largest food exhibition in the latter half of the year, attracting over 50,000 attendees. These events not only expanded Coex’s physical footprint but also demonstrated its commitment to globalization and diversified content for sustainable growth.

Coex’s Vision for 2024

As we step into 2024, Coex is poised to expand its influence in the MICE industry through strategic expansion. The unveiling of “THE PLATZ” a versatile event hall on the second floor of the Coex exhibition hall, in January signifies a renewed commitment to host a wide array of events, including exhibitions, seminars, conferences, and banquets.
Mr. Dong-ki Lee, President of Coex, stated, “We are expanding the exhibition and conference spaces at Coex to meet the growing demand from companies and organizations seeking to host events here.” He further elaborated, “Currently, Coex offers a total exhibition and conference space of 48,000 square meters, and we plan to increase this by 2,500 square meters in 2024 and an additional 2,500 square meters by 2025 to cater to the needs of our customers.”
Moreover, Coex is gearing up to operate the Coex Magok Convention Center, located in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, scheduled to open in November of this year. Leveraging its experience in managing the massive Trade Center in Gangnam, Coex aims to brand the convention center in Magok as “Coex Magok LaWest” and transform the area into a hub for MICE activities in western Seoul.
The Coex Magok LaWest boasts a total floor area of 20,000 square meters, featuring an exhibition hall capable of accommodating up to 400 booths and conference rooms capable of hosting up to 13,000 attendees. With excellent transportation connectivity and a fully-equipped MICE infrastructure, this facility is poised to alleviate the shortage of MICE spaces in Seoul effectively.
Within a 10-kilometer radius of Magok, numerous industrial complexes have been established, making it an ideal environment for hosting B2B exhibitions. Additionally, the region boasts a resident population of approximately 6.88 million people within a 10-kilometer radius, providing an optimal setting for B2C exhibitions.
Anticipated to achieve a 60% operational rate during its first year, Coex Magok is already receiving inquiries for conference room rentals, further solidifying its role in the MICE landscape.

Elevating Sustainability with “good plan”

Coex is at the forefront of promoting sustainability within the MICE industry, and it has introduced the “good plan” a premium eco-friendly event service. This service encompasses various eco-friendly elements, including the “AV DROP,” a rapid and eco-friendly assembly stage system, “Best Systems” lighting booths, and the “vomo” eco-friendly booth package exclusively used by the world’s second-largest art fair, Art Basel.
The AV DROP system has been utilized in approximately 160 events to create diverse spaces such as planning zones, seminar areas, VIP lounges, and photo zones for events like AWS Summit Seoul, Coffee Expo All That Travel, and Food Week.
“good plan” aligns with the current focus of the MICE industry on sustainability, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and carbon neutrality. Coex is the third organization in South Korea to join the “Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge,” a global MICE industry initiative that aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, aligning with the Paris Agreement and United Nations Climate Change Convention resolutions.
Furthermore, Coex has entered into an agreement for “ESG Cooperation in Seoul Global Exhibitions” with Exporum and KOREA E&EX INC., solidifying its commitment to practicing ESG principles and contributing to the Seoul city’s efforts in this direction.

Shifting Focus: From Innovation to Sustainability

While innovation was a central theme in the convention industry pre-pandemic, the industry is now shifting its focus towards sustainability, ESG, and carbon neutrality. Mr. Lee Dong-gi, President of Coex, highlighted the industry’s commitment to environmentally friendly practices, stating, “Convention centers and large exhibition organizers worldwide are grappling with ways to reduce energy consumption, cut carbon emissions, and minimize waste and food waste generated after events, all in response to the climate crisis.”
Coex’s dedication to this ethos ensures it will continue to discover and expand eco-friendly service offerings that align with the spirit of the times.

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SIMTOS 2018

The Seoul International Manufacturing Technology Show 2018 (SIMTOS 2018) has become even more special thanks to the operation of more special pavilions by various countries.

SIMTOS has presented new forms of industry exhibitions to visitors and exhibitors every year. This fact was enough to entice many visitors and exhibitors, which inspire other industry exhibitions. SIMTOS 2018 to be held this time resolutely veered away from a practice where industry exhibitions are held by items and enhanced the convenience of visitors and exhibitors by arranging exhibition spaces by continents.
“There are three reasons why this year the organizers decided to run SIMTOS as special halls by continents,” commented an official of SIMTOS. “The three reasons are the arrival of the fourth industrial revolution, the characteristics of exhibition items, and the safety and capacities to supply affiliated facilities of the Second Exhibition Hall at KINTEX.”
According to the official, the characteristics of the fourth industrial revolution are the convergence of industries, products, and technologies, and a collaborative system. Therefore, it is necessary to move its focus to complex solutions that are characterized by the convergence, intellectualizing and collaboration of processes from products. Therefore, the SIMTOS organizers have pursued such changes to show the convergence of solutions by continents in existing exhibitions of certain items.
This year’s SIMTOS will offer an opportunity for visitors and exhibitors to understand how manufacturing powerhouses in the world are preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution via the Special Fourth Industrial Revolution Pavilion, which will enable visitors to grasp the flow of the global Fourth Industrial Revolution at a glance.
The SIMTOS organizers launched the Special Smart Factory Pavilion in the exhibition in 2016, which was introduced at the previous exhibition as a special project planned as a pilot project. As the Special Smart Factory Pavilion was attempted for the first time it was not quite perfect, but there were many people who praised the new attempt,” explained an official of the SIMTOS Organizing Committee. “The Special Fourth Industrial Revolution Pavilion at the Second Exhibition Hall will consist of eight sectors such as cooperative robots, engineering software, networks, IoT, and complex solutions, which are important components of the fourth industrial revolution under the theme of smart factories, digital and connection by expanding the scope of Smart Factory. More than 40 companies and consortiums have already completed their applications.”

Making SIMTOS 2018 Win Hearts of Visitors

SIMTOS has been using the MM4U (Match-Making for You) System to match exhibitors and companies before the start of the exhibition. From the previous exhibition, SIMTOS organizers made the system more convenient by putting the system online.
“MM4U, which was offered online during SIMTOS 2016, lacked the management of effective support for business meetings as exhibitors increased 168% and buyers more than doubled from the previous exhibition,” said an official of SIMTOS. He added, “We will improve the MM4U matching system by way of voluntary decision-making between exhibitors and buyers and implement services to enhance satisfaction through the operation of paid premium services in addition to general services.”
The Premium service provide services differentiated from general services in terms of inviting buyers, the number of matching applications that can be allowed and alarm functions. In addition, in order to invite big overseas buyers, the SIMTOS organizers dispatched market survey teams to five major emerging markets (South Africa, Iran, the UAE, India and Vietnam) in 2017, visited local companies and related organizations and held import and export fairs there.
The Korea Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (KOMMA) identified 50 dealers and buyers and conducted 200 preconsultations for them and will invite them to SIMTOS this year. “Our association has 20 agents who attract buyers composed of demand industries and dealer organizations in 10 countries including Turkey, Thailand and Brazil,” commented a representative of SIMTOS.

SIMTOS 2018 Expects More Than 100,000 Visitors

“I think that SIMTOS is a good venue, and it is an exhibition that strives to be the best,” said an official of the SIMTOS. “The association also supports other exhibitions and productions. However, in order to understand industrial trends in manufacturing and manufacturing technology and build networks, it is necessary to visit SIMTOS.”
The first goal is to get visitors to agree on this idea and the second is to strengthen and expand direct invitations to those in demand industries such as the automobile, machinery, electronics, electricity, IT, semiconductor, display, metal, steel, renewable energy, space and aviation, and medical industries.

Demand for Machine Tools Increases in Various Industries

“The slogan of SIMTOS 2018 exhibition is Capture the Future: the 4th manufacturing and manufacturing technologies connected with the 4th industrial revolution at SIMTOS 2018. Now is an era when industrial boundaries are falling down. We expect a rise in the participation of various industries that want to connect the fourth industrial revolution with their production and manufacturing technology,” the official explained.
“SIMTOS is already the largest production and manufacturing technology exhibition in Korea,” the official remarked. “It is difficult to mention a certain number, but the goal of the SIMTOS is always to be the most satisfying production and manufacturing technology exhibition.”

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