Gimpo International Airport Other UN units based at Gimpo (Kimpo) included: On 21 September 1953 North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok defected in his MiG-15 landing at Gimpo. In 1958, the airport was redesignated as the Gimpo international airport of Seoul by a presidential decree, completely replacing the existing Yeouido Airport. Following the construction of Gimpo, Yeouido Airport was totally demolished. It soon became the main airport of Seoul and South Korea in general. In 1971, a new combined domestic and international terminal was opened. However, following the opening of Terminal 1 in 1977, the original terminal was converted to domestic flights only. Later,
Gimpo International Airport Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai starting in October 2007, Kansai Airport in Osaka starting in 2008, Beijing starting in July 2011, and Songshan Airport in Taipei starting in April 2012. Total international passenger numbers at Gimpo rose from under one million in 2005 to over four million by 2012. Korea Airports announced an expansion and remodeling of the terminals in 2013, adding new gates and security checkpoints. In 2017, the Korean government announced that a new terminal would be built to meet growing domestic traffic. Gimpo currently has two runways (3600 m × 45 m & 3200 m × 60 m),