The Visit Korea Committee is pushing for the reappointment of Lee Boo-jin, President and CEO of Hotel Shilla, as its chairperson on May 27.
The decision aims to maintain existing leadership ahead of the upcoming "2027-2029 Visit Korea Year" campaign, strengthening business continuity and public-private partnership frameworks.
The committee announced it will convene its 19th regular board meeting on the same day to table a motion for Lee's reappointment as the next chairperson. The term is three years.
Regarding the rationale for seeking reappointment, the committee stated, "Chairperson Lee demonstrated strong execution by successfully leading the '2023-2024 Visit Korea Year' campaign." It added, "There was consensus that continuity in expertise and global leadership is necessary for the leap forward in the '2027-2029 Visit Korea Year,' which will begin full-scale preparations next year."
The need for public-private partnership-based project execution has grown more critical at a time when tourism demand recovery and regional expansion strategies are simultaneously required. This is also cited as a factor behind the reappointment push. The committee believes Lee's continued leadership will serve as an opportunity to strengthen the organization's role as a focal point for public interest projects aimed at revitalizing the tourism industry.
The Visit Korea Committee is a nonprofit foundation under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It is Korea's only public-private partnership organization in the tourism sector, dedicated to enhancing the brand value of Korean tourism through collaboration between the private and public sectors. The chairperson represents the committee both domestically and internationally, overseeing campaign strategy development, global promotion, and industry-linked projects.