Korea to turn Incheon airport, seaport into logistics hub
Incheon’s airport and seaport, both critical international hubs for the country’s passenger traffic and freight trade, will evolve further to boost Korea’s role in improving travel and trade around the world faster and in a more eco-friendly way, according to the ministries in charge of air and sea, Thursday.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced plans to develop the structures and operational systems of Incheon International Airport and the Port of Incheon, respectively. The announcement came from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s 18th town hall meeting at Incheon City Hall, where he said the agenda would nurture Incheon’s key infrastructures and broaden Korea’s global economic territory.
The land ministry said it will expand the number of countries that it has open sky agreements with from 50 at present to 70 by 2030 so that airlines connecting Korea to those nations can freely expand their routes, hopefully introducing more direct flights without stopovers. Once the airport’s phase 4 renovation works are completed in October, it will service up to 100 million passengers each year, the authority said.
As the government expects the Korean Air-Asiana Airlines merger will move forward, it is looking to take advantage of the merger to introduce more routes and create a broader pool of passengers for the new airline. At the same time, Korean low-cost carriers will be aided by the government as the airline industry transforms so that their competitiveness — for shorter distances — will keep meeting the high demand.
A new aircraft development complex will be completed inside Incheon airport by February 2026, and a terminal will be reserved for personal or corporate aircraft by 2028. Urban development close to the airport will commence to attract more foreign travelers who choose Incheon as their stopover.
The authority will also monitor flight prices after the merger to prevent the prices from rising and maintain affordability for the public.
Regarding the port, the oceans ministry will oversee the construction of new container terminals that will be fully automated when they open in 2027. The port’s backyard will be expanded by 3 million square meters so as to meet the port’s rising number of shipping containers, while the port will be made a barrier-free shipyard to allow eco-friendly vessels to freely come and go.
Four new logistics depots will be prepared in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, and additional depots in Vietnam and European countries will be created to support Korean firms’ maritime exports and possess safer supply chains.
National-flagged vessels will comprehensively be upgraded for higher loading capacity, while the authority will encourage foreign shipliners to join the K-Alliance so that the country’s new maritime network will grow bigger with more member companies worldwide.
The ministry will also financially support the building of environmentally cleaner vessels as decarbonization across the oceans and ship operators is being enforced by global organizations like the European Union and the International Maritime Organization. Korea Ocean Business Corporation’s emergency-contingency fund, together with investments by ship operators and freight users, will be more rigorously used to financially support the building of eco-friendly vessels.