Incheon has advanced a bid to return to the Formula 1 calendar, proposing a 4.96-kilometer street circuit routed through Songdo Moonlight Festival Park. Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok is leading the push and has proposed a five-year hosting stint. Early plans call for the circuit to use existing roads in Yeonsu-gu, a new pit building and temporary grandstands for up to 120,000 spectators, and to take advantage of proximity to Incheon International Airport and Subway Line 1. City officials began promoting the idea in April 2024 and have targeted 2028 for a race, including a request to stage a double race that year.

A feasibility study led by the Korea Industrial Development Institute in partnership with German circuit designer Tilke, which began in June 2025, confirmed the site’s potential. The study estimated tourism revenue of roughly 580 billion to 590 billion won and projected creation of about 4,800 to 5,000 jobs. Officials put the project cost at about KRW1.04 trillion, with an estimated funding split of KRW237.1 billion from government and city coffers and KRW802.5 billion from private investors. Mayor Yoo said the Grand Prix could “transform Incheon from a transit hub into a global destination.”

Organizers still need backing from local and national governments, a promoter to win a tender and formal approval from Formula 1. They must satisfy technical, financial and political requirements and plan to identify private partners by the end of the year. Political support is divided and looming local elections add uncertainty, and planners say they must demonstrate long-term financial viability to avoid a repeat of the previous Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam, which ran from 2010 to 2013 before falling off the calendar amid cost concerns and waning local interest. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has described South Korea as an “untapped, social-media-connected market.”