GroundK ran integrated protocol and transport for the APEC 2025 KOREA Second Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM2) in Jeju, together with the trade, education, and employment ministerial meetings held alongside it. Across sessions, dinners, briefings, and cultural tours, our team delivered more than 400 protocol and transport services spanning Jeju City, where Jeju International Airport sits, to the main venues in Seogwipo.
What was SOM2 in Jeju
The APEC Second Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM2) was held successfully in Jeju. Alongside the senior officials' sessions, the trade, education, and employment ministerial meetings ran back to back, making it a layered, large-scale international event. That scale called for a high level of strategic planning across protocol and transport.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province offers strong infrastructure for international meetings, along with the natural scenery and attractions that draw visitors from around the world. As an island, however, it has structural limits on securing a large fleet of protocol vehicles and specialised crew, so an operation of this size brought real challenges.
Different routes and participants for each meeting
Each meeting had its own routes and its own mix of participants. From ministerial figures to working-level staff and aides, every group needed reliable transport at the same time, which meant building a transport system capable of carrying it all out without a gap.
To meet this layered challenge, GroundK profiled the participants of each meeting against the available resources and analysed the schedules in detail. From that work we designed transport plans tailored to each tier and built a flexible operating structure able to respond to the volatility that international events bring.
Across SOM2, from ministerial meetings to working sessions, dinners, briefings, and cultural tours, more than 400 protocol and transport services were delivered. The participant mix was varied, and the routes stretched widely, from Jeju City, home to Jeju International Airport, to the main venues in Seogwipo. The dispatch itself ran several modes at once: dedicated protocol cars for senior figures, wide-area shuttles for working-level staff, and tour transport tied to the cultural programme. None of it would have been possible without thorough planning and on-the-ground operation.
Data-driven transport with VMS
To keep protocol and transport seamless even in a demanding environment, GroundK drew on its in-house VMS (Vehicle Management System). VMS tracks vehicle location and status, driver information, and traffic conditions in real time, allowing the team to respond quickly to the sudden variables that can arise on the move.
With this digital tool, vehicles were dispatched more efficiently, participants enjoyed a stable journey, and the operations team gained a transparent management framework. It was a result built by technology and operating experience together.
A transport protocol shaped around user needs
SOM2 was built not only around the meeting schedule but also around programmes that let participants experience Jeju's scenery and culture firsthand. By matching transport to the character of each event, GroundK helped participants move comfortably, rest fully outside official hours, and focus more closely on the meetings.
More than 400 transport schedules were no simple task, yet GroundK took responsibility for every moment, from start to finish, with thorough planning and solid execution. Connecting programmes as different as ministerial meetings, working sessions, official dinners, cultural tours, and briefings into one natural flow was among the project's greatest achievements.
The strength to carry a complex event to success
GroundK's systematic transport management and the precise integration of digital technology were key factors behind the successful hosting of APEC SOM2. It was also a case that reaffirmed, on the world stage, what a Korean company can do in international event transport and protocol. Participants could take in Jeju's natural environment and culture while staying focused on the meetings, and our team earned recognition for its expertise and reliability on another international stage.
The three ministerial meetings held alongside APEC SOM2 stand as a representative case showing GroundK's integrated transport capability in full. We served as a moving partner that raises the quality of the whole event, not just its transport. Smartly controlling 400 protocol vehicle assignments and helping countless participants reach their destinations safely and precisely — at the centre of that work were technology, field experience, and an understanding of people.
At an international event, getting around is never simply getting around. It is the process of connecting experiences, leaving memories, and completing a success. GroundK will keep taking responsibility for more journeys along that road.
