Patrick Lee, executive director of Gallery Hyundai in Seoul, will step down from his post and direct the art fair Frieze Seoul starting in November, according to the gallery.

Frieze Seoul will be held in early September 2022 at Coex in southern Seoul, alongside KIAF Seoul, South Korea’s largest international art fair. As director of Frieze Seoul, Lee will take charge of organizing the event. Seoul is the first Asian city to host a Frieze art fair.

Lee, who previously led One and J. Gallery, joined Gallery Hyundai in 2019 as executive director. He also served on the committee of Art Basel Hong Kong as a sector expert for discoveries and insights.

Frieze Seoul and KIAF will run concurrently for five years, taking up four exhibition halls at Coex. Although the two fairs will be held side by side, they will operate independently.

KIAF has been run by the Galleries Association of Korea since 2002. The edition that recently concluded brought in 65 billion won ($55.77 million), the highest sales figure in its 20-year history.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)