Seoul Tourism Foundation seeks new chief after 5-year CEO wraps up tenure

Gil Ki-yeon, who led the Seoul Tourism Foundation for five years, has stepped down at the end of his term. The foundation is moving quickly to find his successor.

The Seoul Tourism Foundation announced Monday that it has launched an open recruitment process to select a new president, following the expiration of Gil's term.

Gil took office in July 2021 and served a total of five years after two consecutive renewals of his term. A farewell ceremony attended by foundation staff was held at its headquarters on Saturday.

During his tenure, the foundation developed tourism content drawing on Seoul's assets, including hiking and festivals. It opened urban hiking tourism centers at Bukhansan, Bugaksan and Gwanaksan, promoting mountain tourism across the city. At Gwanghwamun Square, it hosted Seoul Summer Beach, the Seoul Lantern Festival and Gwanghwamun Market. The 2025 Gwanghwamun Market and Seoul Lantern Festival drew about 7.4 million visitors. The ongoing 2026 Seoul Summer Beach has been drawing strong responses from both residents and tourists, with expanded nighttime programming and a larger event zone.

The foundation also invested in hands-on visitor experiences. It expanded Seoul My Soul Shop, the city's flagship souvenir store, to six company-operated locations. The Seoul Culture Lounge, a hallyu experience center, hosted 386 regular and ongoing programs and logged a cumulative 44,040 visitors.

Seoul also posted strong results on major international indicators: it ranked first in Asia and third in the world for the number of international meetings hosted in 2025, according to the Union of International Associations, and was named the world's best meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions city by Global Traveler for the 11th consecutive year.

"Content rooted in the everyday life of Seoul will continue to give depth to the city's tourism," Gil said. "I'm stepping down from my title, but I will keep cheering for Seoul as someone who loves tourism."

The foundation's executive search committee posted an open recruitment notice on July 13 and has begun the selection process. The incoming president will oversee efforts to strengthen Seoul's tourism competitiveness, including domestic and international tourism marketing, development of the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions industry, and the development and commercialization of tourism resources. The term is three years from the date of appointment, with the option to renew annually after that.