GroundK has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Intercom, a leading Korean Professional Conference Organizer (PCO). At a ceremony held at Intercom's headquarters, the two companies agreed to cooperate across several areas to strengthen K-MICE competitiveness and develop new MICE ventures. The partnership pairs an established events operator with a digital mobility startup to pursue new business built on meeting technology.
Why these two companies joined forces
The two partners are deliberately different in character. Intercom, led by co-CEOs Choi Tae-young and Seok Jae-min, is one of Korea's representative global PCOs, with a long record of running international conferences and exhibitions. GroundK, led by CEO Jang Dong-won, is a travel mobility startup whose strengths lie in digital technology and operational know-how.
The industry has described the agreement as a meeting between an established company that helped grow the sector and a digitally driven startup, and sees it as a turning point for K-MICE to grow into a global industry through greater competitiveness. The structure is straightforward: two different sets of capabilities combining to create new value.
Building new ventures on meeting technology
At the center of the agreement is meeting technology. MICE is a B2B field that brings together a large number of companies and institutions. Within that ecosystem, the two companies agreed to read technology trends and develop a shared strategy for improving how work gets done.
As digital transformation accelerates across the sector, Intercom and GroundK plan to apply the meeting technology each side holds and respond together to a fast-changing market. The goal is to find new business opportunities at the point where Intercom's operational strength meets GroundK's technology base.
The synergy GroundK envisions
GroundK CEO Jang Dong-won framed the agreement around synergy.
"We expect significant synergy from combining the operational capabilities Intercom has built over many years with GroundK's technology and know-how. We will work on many fronts to contribute to the growth of the tourism and MICE industry, in Korea and beyond." — Jang Dong-won, CEO of GroundK
GroundK is a startup that has used mobility technology and operational experience to solve movement and transport challenges at MICE events through digital tools. The agreement gives the team a footing to test and extend that technology on the front line of international conference operations.
Discovering and growing startups together
The agreement reaches beyond the two companies. Intercom and GroundK also committed to discovering and nurturing promising startups that can bring new energy to the MICE market.
Earlier in the year, Intercom appointed Seok Jae-min as co-CEO, beginning a leadership structure shared with Choi Tae-young. Seok emphasized that the MICE industry needs room for fresh ideas to be tried.
"From a mid-to-long-term perspective, as Intercom moves beyond Korea toward the global market, we will develop a range of new businesses with GroundK. We will find promising startups and create an environment where they can grow." — Seok Jae-min, co-CEO of Intercom
A first step toward the future of K-MICE
By bringing together an established operator's experience and a startup's technology, the agreement points to a shift in which K-MICE moves beyond event delivery toward a technology-based industry. Through its work with Intercom, GroundK intends to shape new ventures built on meeting technology and to help advance the wider tourism and MICE sector.