South Korea’s hopes of bringing Formula 1 back through an Incheon Grand Prix have suffered a major setback, with the city formally abandoning its plan to host a race from 2028. Incheon has decided to halt all administrative procedures connected to the project, dismantle the organisational structures created to support the bid and remove the corresponding budget allocations.
Incheon, South Korea’s third-largest city, had emerged as one of the candidates hoping to join an increasingly competitive future Formula 1 calendar. The country had previously been included among the markets interested in bringing a Grand Prix back to South Korea, but the Incheon initiative will now go no further.
Incheon officially abandons its 2028 Formula 1 Grand Prix bid
During an official report presented to the culture and welfare committee of the city council, International Cooperation Bureau director Kim Young-shin explained the reasons behind the decision to stop pursuing the Formula 1 project.
“The financial situation, the difficulties in getting a special law approved that would be necessary to obtain government support, as well as the low probability of the operation succeeding and its limited profitability led the transition committee to recommend that it be discontinued,” Kim Young-shin said.
“After considering politically whether or not to continue, we decided to close the project permanently.”
This marks the first time the city administration has formally confirmed that the procedures are being suspended, although the new mayor’s transition committee had already indicated in previous weeks that it favoured abandoning the initiative.
The decision also removes Incheon from the growing discussion surrounding potential additions and rotations on the future Formula 1 schedule. Competition for places is already significant as several circuits and countries pursue opportunities to join the F1 calendar.
Budget and Formula 1 organisational structure to be removed
The withdrawal also means that the financial resources originally allocated to the preparatory phase will no longer be required. Almost 9.5 billion won, approximately €600,000, had been planned for the current year, including funds carried over from the previous financial period.
Those funds were intended to cover verification investigations, feasibility studies and consultancy services connected to the tender process for private operators. None of the allocated money was spent.
The dedicated international events task force created to support the bid will also disappear from the city’s organisational structure. The unit had been established and subsequently expanded during 2024 specifically to manage Incheon’s Formula 1 candidacy.
It consisted of three teams operating within the International Cooperation Bureau, but that dedicated structure will now cease to exist as the F1 project is wound down.
Incheon F1 project had divided local opinion
The proposed Grand Prix had divided local opinion from the early stages of the initiative. Last year, the administration invested five billion won, approximately €300,000, in a feasibility study that was later presented in the spring as having satisfied the required economic criteria.
That conclusion subsequently became an issue during the election campaign. However, when public contributions were excluded from the calculations, the profitability indicators were considerably weaker.
The citizens’ committee opposing the Formula 1 project criticised the administration’s presentation of the numbers, arguing that “they turned a loss-making operation into a profitable one”.
The debate reflected the wider challenge facing cities attempting to secure places on Formula 1’s increasingly valuable schedule, where the financial commitments required from prospective hosts have to be balanced against expected tourism, economic and promotional benefits. The competition for future events is also part of the broader reshaping of Formula 1’s calendar through new markets, contracts and race rotations.
Incheon will focus on other international events
A city official confirmed that none of the Formula 1-related funding allocated for this year had actually been spent and said the conditions were no longer in place for the initiative to continue.
“This year, no allocation related to F1 has been implemented and the conditions no longer allow us to move forward,” the official said. “From now on, we intend to focus on other international events capable of strengthening the city’s competitiveness in line with the new direction of the administration.”
The decision therefore brings down the curtain on Incheon’s attempt to revive the South Korean Grand Prix. After the disappointing Formula 1 events held in the country at the beginning of the previous decade, hopes of another Korean race had re-emerged around the proposed 2028 project, but the city has now formally ended its involvement.
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