Gyeongju, a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, has been selected to host the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The summit will be held in South Korea next year, 20 years after it was last held in Busan in 2005.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on June 20 that the government’s APEC summit host city recommendation committee held its fourth meeting and recommended Gyeongju as the city candidate for hosting the summit next year. The committee members determined by majority vote that Gyeongju excelled in various areas, such as its contribution to national and regional development and its cultural and tourism resources. The final decision on the host city will be made by the APEC Summit Preparatory Committee later this month.
APEC is the world’s largest regional economic forum, established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific. APEC’s 21 members have a combined population of 3 billion people, which accounts for 40% of the world’s population. APEC members represent 62% of the world’s GDP and 50% of global trade.
During a meeting last month, the committee initially selected three cities - Gyeongju, Incheon, and Jeju - as candidate cities. An on-site inspection team evaluated each city based on the candidate city inspection plan. After a comprehensive review of the inspection results, the committee picked Gyeongju over the two other candidates. The city was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC - 935 AD) and is one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations.
Gyeongju Mayor Joo Nak-young said, “We will prepare thoroughly in the remaining time to ensure the most successful summit.”