F1 Korean Grand Prix drivers race at the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, in this Oct. 14, 2012, file photo. / Yonhap



By Jung Min-ho

There will be no Formula One (F1) racing event in Korea next year and it's not a given that the country will get one back in 2015.

In trimming the F1 calendar for 2014, the International Automobile Federation decided to drop Korea along with other venues like New Jersey in the United States and Mexico at the World Motor Sports Council in France, Wednesday.

The F1 Korean Grand Prix in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, has been a colossal money loser, with its operating losses pilling up to 190 billion won (about $179 million) in the past four years. Yeongam's operating committee had requested Formula One Management to cut the hosting right fee to $20 million for 2014 from this year's $27 million. The demand wasn't met, which led to the cancelation of the 2014 event.

It remains to be seen whether the failure to host next year's event will lead the organizers to completely give up their holding rights, which is contracted up to 2016. A Korean Grand Prix official said they plan on hosting it again in 2015, but admitted that the possibilities were far from certain.

"We are not hosting the event next year, and we are trying to come up with measures for the situation," a Korean Grand Prix official, who refused to be name, told The Korea Times. "Nonetheless, we believe Yeongam should continue to host it. So we will push hard to get it back for 2015."

The Korean Grand Prix' operating losses were 72.5 billion won in 2010 ― the first year ― 61 billion won in 2011 and 38.6 billion won last year. Organizers had also expected to lose another 18.1 billion won next year for the event.

The official admitted the "excessive financial" loss was the main reason for the omission.

The international racing competition is a multi-billion dollar sport with millions of fans and television viewers worldwide; it had an audience of 527 million for the 2010 season. But Korea has been one of the least popular stops both for many fans and drivers with a lack of passion and facilities outside the circuit.

The Grand Prix in 2012 drew about 164,152 fans, but the number dropped to 158,163 this year.

What makes the organizers more frustrated is its vision in Korea; questions have been raised whether it will ever make ends meet, let alone turn a profit, in the country that has neither an F1 driver nor a car producer.

Yeongam's omission is also expected to be an alarm for many other cities unafraid of spending millions of dollars on unprofitable international sporting events outside their budget.