INQUIRER Sports

SEOUL - South Korean organizers promised a full-scale promotion campaign after the International Automobile Federation set the date for the country's first Formula One event.

The Korean Grand Prix on October 17 next year will be the 17th event of the 19-race season, which opens in Bahrain on March 14.

The Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO), a joint venture between private firm M-Bridge Holdings and the South Jeolla provincial government, is building the track in Yeongam county, 320 kilometers (200 miles) south of Seoul.

"From now, we will aggressively launch marketing activities," KAVO chief Chung Yung-Cho said in a statement.

Officials are confident the race will quickly make its mark after its debut.

The 5.6-kilometre circuit is being constructed on 172 hectares (425 acres) of reclaimed land alongside an artificial lake by the sea.

Organizers say the circuit will include Asia's longest straight stretch of 1.2 kilometers, which will allow speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour.

South Korea has hosted the Olympics, the Asian Games and a football World Cup but never a Formula One race, despite a major domestic auto industry.