Formula 1 News: Incheon South Korea signs LOI for 5-year race deal

Incheon City in South Korea announced on April 7th that it will promote a bid for a Formula One (F1) Grand Prix. The city is very close to Seoul.

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok visited Japan the day before and delivered a letter of intent to hold the F1 Incheon Grand Prix to to Formula One Management Group.

Present at the event were Formula One Group CEO Stefano Domenicali, who was attending the Suzuka Grand Prix, and Kang Na-yeon, chairman of Taehwa Holdings, the Korean partner of F1.

Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok delivering a letter of intent to F1 CEo Stefano Domenicali to hold the F1 Incheon Grand Prix — Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok delivering a letter of intent to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to hold the F1 Incheon Grand Prix

The city envisions hosting the first Incheon Grand Prix in 2026 or 2027 and then holding the event for at least five years.

It is expected to be held as an urban street race.

The city lies in the northwest of South Korea, with its suburbs bordering the outskirts of Seoul. The city has some excellent beaches such as Eurwangni Beach, a long strip of golden sand with a backdrop of mature pines.

Throughout the city, historic sites and places of historical importance await tourists. Visit Jayu Park, Chinatown, and the battle sites of Ganghwa-do and listen to their hidden stories. The beautiful scenery created by the West Sea and its many islands is another reason Incheon is so loved by tourists.

Songdo Central Park and Posco Tower Songdo. Photo by Jaehyuk Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Today, about 3 million people live in the city, making it South Korea’s third-most-populous city after Seoul and Busan.

The city’s Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said, “Incheon, with its transportation network and many high-quality accommodation facilities such as Incheon Airport and Incheon Port, is the best place to host F1,” adding, “We will start full-fledged negotiations to host F1 on Incheon.”