Chen Si, President of Mohegan INSPIRE, recognized as ‘2024 Meritorious Contributor to Foreign Direct Investment’ in Korea

• President Si received the Industrial Service Medal for his successful execution of the largest-sized FDI project in tourism and leisure and contribution to industrial development, on behalf of the company
• INSPIRE is a new-generation integrated resort that combines a variety of entertainment elements such as five-star hotel towers, live performance arena, MICE, indoor water park and more, spreading its positive influence widely through cultural promotion, job creation, and tourism attraction

[Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - Incheon, South Korea] Mohegan INSPIRE Entertainment Resort (President Chen Si, "Mohegan INSPIRE " or " INSPIRE ") announced that Chen Si, President of INSPIRE was selected as a meritorious contributor for foreign direct investment (FDI) and received the Industrial Service Medal at the '24th Foreign Company Day' event hosted and organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea Foreign Company Association on the 5^th.

'Foreign Company Day' is an event held annually since 2001 to commend and encourage companies, organizations, and meritorious contributors that have contributed to the Korean economy through foreign direct investment.

As the representative of Mohegan INSPIRE, President Chen Si was awarded the Industrial Service Medal in recognition of his leadership in operating the largest FDI project in the tourism and leisure sector in Korea and for the positive impact it has had on the domestic tourism industry. INSPIRE has made a significant contribution to the development of the tourism industry by successfully opening a resort on Yeongjong Island, through an investment of about KRW 2 trillion, including foreign direct investment of approximately USD 700 million.

"It is a great honor to receive this award on behalf of Mohegan INSPIRE. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the stakeholders who have supported us thus far for the successful opening of this project," said Chen Si, President of INSPIRE, at the award ceremony. "INSPIRE will continue to do its utmost to grow alongside the local economy through the creation of new jobs and the development of high value-added service industries, and to establish itself as one of the iconic tourism landmarks in Korea."

Chen Si, who began his career as a management consultant at the strategic consulting firm, McKinsey and Company, accumulated expertise in hotel, MICE, casino operations, and at Las Vegas Sands. From 2015, he held positions as Vice President of International Marketing at Sands China and Senior Vice President of Legend Development in Macau. In August 2022, he joined INSPIRE as the Chief Operating Officer (COO), and in August 2023, he was promoted to the position of President at Mohegan INSPIRE, where he currently leads overall strategic planning and performance management.

INSPIRE, which officially opened in March 2024, is a comprehensive entertainment resort equipped with a 5-star hotel with 1,275 rooms, Korea's first multi-purpose arena with a capacity of 15,000 seats, the largest hotel MICE facilities in the country, a immersive digital entertainment street with high-definition screens (Aurora), an indoor water park available all year round, a complex cultural and shopping space, a large outdoor experience park, a casino exclusive for foreigners, and various other entertainment facilities. It has played a leading role in attracting domestic and foreign tourists, recording approximately 3.5 million cumulative visitors just six months after its grand opening.

Particularly, INSPIRE Arena, the first performance-specialized arena in Korea, has hosted large-scale K-pop events such as the '2023 SBS Gayo Daejeon,' '2024 WeverseCon Festival,' '2024 K-Link Festival' since the '2023 Melon Music Awards' in December last year as well as performances by top global artists like Maroon 5 and Linkin Park, and large-scale MICE events. It has attracted over 400,000 audiences to Yeongjong Island. Owing to these achievements, the General Manager of INSPIRE Arena, Jamie Jang, recently received the 'Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation' at the '2024 Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards.'

"Moreover, the successful launch of the resort is positively impacting the economic revitalization of the Incheon area. As of April 2024, over 80% of the total workforce directly employed by INSPIRE are residents of Incheon, with a significant contribution to the creation of jobs for young people. Recognizing these contributions, INSPIRE was selected as the '2024 Exemplary Workplace' by the Ministry of Employment and Labor in September, and received the '2024 Presidential Award for Job Creation.'"

[Image 1] Chen Si, President of Mohegan INSPIRE, receiving the 'Industrial Service Medal' at the 'Foreign Company Day' ceremony on the 5th for his contribution to industrial development through the largest foreign investment project in the tourism and leisure sector

[Image 2] The view of Mohegan INSPIRE Entertainment Resort, which has been visited by more than 3.5 million people (as of September 2024) since its opening