Gyeonggi Province Selects 'Live Nation Consortium' as Priority Negotiation Partner for K-Culture Valley

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gab-dong] Live Nation Consortium, the world's largest concert planning and operation company, has been finalized as the priority negotiation partner for the private recruitment of the 'K-Culture Valley Complex Development Project,' a major project for the development of northern Gyeonggi Province and the advancement of K-culture industry.

Gyeonggi Province has set 'Global Culture Industry New Era, K-Culture Valley' as its business vision and plans to resume construction as early as May next year, developing the K-Culture Valley Arena as 'an unprecedented popular music concert venue.'

Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province held the 'K-Culture Valley Private Recruitment Priority Negotiation Partner Selection Announcement and Discussion Session' at the Bitaru Broadcasting Support Center in Goyang on the 23rd, saying "Various cultural forms centered on K-pop, such as 'K-pop Demon Hunters,' are sweeping the world internationally, but (Gyeonggi Province) doesn't have K-pop concert venues, which has been truly regrettable. I am pleased to announce the priority negotiation partner today."

Governor Kim continued, "Last July, I promised swift resumption of the arena under three principles: maintaining the original form, quick implementation, and securing responsible capital. With the goal of resuming construction in May next year, we will devote our utmost efforts to creating the finest technology, a stage that can operate year-round regardless of season and weather, and an arena that can accommodate up to 20,000 to 50,000 people. We will ensure smooth progress without any setbacks."

He added, "I hope we can work together so that the arena and Goyang can become a must-visit mecca for world-class artists and, furthermore, K-pop fans."

Governor Kim Dong-yeon, currently conducting a 'people's livelihood economic fieldwork tour' to check provincial policy issues and listen to residents' voices, selected Goyang as his 12th destination for the day and visited the event venue. This was to officially announce the results of the private recruitment following the termination of the agreement with CJ Live City last year and to signal the full-fledged resumption of the K-Culture Valley project, which had been suspended.

Previously, Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Development Corporation conducted private recruitment for K-Culture Valley in April of this year, with a total of four companies submitting letters of intent to participate. As a result, Live Nation Consortium, the world's largest concert planning and operation company, submitted a final proposal and was selected as the priority negotiation partner through evaluation by an evaluation committee composed of external experts. Live Nation was selected as the world's number one company in ticket sales in 2024 on 'Pollstar,' which is called the Billboard Chart of the concert industry.

Live Nation is a global entertainment company successfully planning and operating large-scale concerts and tours in major cities around the world. In particular, Live Nation Korea has successfully hosted large-scale concerts by world-class artists at multiple venues in Korea, including the Goyang Sports Complex, raising the level of the domestic concert industry to the next stage.

This global capacity and on-site experience are expected to create significant synergy effects in the future construction and operation of the K-Culture Valley Arena.

Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Development Corporation plan to fully reactivate the K-Culture Valley project, which has been at a standstill, with this selection of the priority negotiation partner. Starting from the end of October, they will begin full-scale negotiations with Live Nation Consortium, targeting a contract signing in February next year. After that, detailed design and approval procedures will follow, with plans to resume arena construction in May next year.

Approximately 50 people attended the event, including National Assembly Member Kim Sung-hoe, National Assembly Member Lee Gi-heon, provincial council members, Goyang Mayor Lee Dong-hwan, GH President Kim Yong-jin, Live Nation executives, and culture and performance-related figures.