Relocation to Haeundae-gu... Committed to Making Busan a Hub for Tourism and MICE
Mobility startup GroundK Co., Ltd., previously headquartered in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, has relocated its headquarters to Haeundae-gu, Busan.
In recent years, Busan City has been working to attract tourism and MICE companies from the Seoul metropolitan area, but GroundK is the only company in the industry that has decided to relocate its headquarters.
GroundK, a business mobility solutions specialist, is a tourism transportation startup established in Seoul in 2016. Unlike existing transportation companies, it has provided customized mobility services for businesses and institutions by combining global networks and operational expertise based on IT technology.
In 2019, GroundK drew industry attention by becoming the first to introduce 'T-RiseUp,' a SaaS-based transportation asset management system utilizing cloud technology. This system was implemented at the '2019 Korea-ASEAN Special Summit' held in Busan, marking the first domestic case of applying an IT-based control system, successfully managing and operating over 100 vehicles.
Since then, based on strong trust from the MICE industry, the company has grown into a strong mobility enterprise, providing customized transportation services for international events, VIP transportation, and chauffeur services for domestic and international companies and government agencies.
Recently, the company has strengthened its influence in the Southeast region by successfully executing major global projects in Busan such as the '2022 Upbit Developer Conference (UDC 2022)' and the '2022 Asian Patent Attorneys Association Meeting (APAA 2022)'.
Through such active engagement, the company was selected as a 'Regional Tourism Venture' by the Busan Tourism Organization and secured Pre-A investment from K-Bridge Investment, a Busan-based investment firm.
Through this headquarters relocation, GroundK plans to gradually build its own infrastructure to help Busan grow as a 'Tourism and MICE hub'. The company is preparing to hire about 10 new employees and strengthen its IT technical capabilities.
In line with its advancement into the Southeast region, 'T-RiseUp' will also begin full-scale marketing centered on Busan.
GroundK CEO Dong-won Jang stated, "Busan is a competitive city that combines natural environment with transportation and logistics hub advantages. Our connection with Busan, which began with the Korea-ASEAN Special Summit, has led to this decision to relocate our headquarters." He also expressed strong ambitions to enhance Busan's status in the Asian MICE industry through recruiting local talent and creating synergies through exchanges with various startups.
Meanwhile, the Busan Tourism Organization selected GroundK as its first attracted company since opening its Seoul office, expressing deep interest in companies coming to Busan and indicating policy support to enable startups and SMEs to become driving forces for regional development.
Jeong-sil Lee, President of Busan Tourism Organization, stated, "Busan is a very attractive city for companies equipped with IT technology and operational capabilities. The participation of strong companies like GroundK is very important for Busan to become a global TOP 10 tourist city. We will spare no support to ensure that various companies coming to Busan do not feel any lack of resources."
