The private and public sectors have joined forces to attract the 2030 World Expo to Busan. The President Yoon Suk-yeol government is stepping on the gas to achieve the goal of attracting the Expo to Busan.
President Yoon’s participation in the NATO Summit, to be held in Madrid from June 29 to 30, is part of the new government’s efforts to obtain the right to host the 2030 World Expo.
President Yoon will be the first Korean president to attend a session with the leaders of the 30 NATO members and partner countries for multilateral and bilateral talks.
The top 10 Korean business groups, having already formed their own task force, have been assigned countries to gain their support. About 170 member countries of the Bureau International des Expostions (BIE) have been divided among the top 10 conglomerates - Samsung Electronics, SK, Hyundai Motor, LG, Lotte, POSCO, Hanwha, GS, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Shinsegae - to request their support in the race to attract the Expo.
Last November, the conglomerates signed an MOU to provide support for the attraction of the Expo. At that time, their activities were sagging, but things have changed after the new government was inaugurated.
The momentum has gained ground as the presidential office has showed its determination to attract the Expo.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo attended the 170th BIE General Assembly in Paris on June 21 in which he delivered a presentation on Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Han met ministers of participating countries and BIE representatives to appeal for their support to attract the Expo to Busan.
Prime Minister Han made a call on French Foreign Minister Catherline Colonna in which he evaluated the French government’s efforts in the history of BIE and asked for France’s support to attract the 2030 World Expo to Busan.
Han held a meeting with Serbian Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Tatjana Matic. Han said the 2030 World Expo Busan would share knowhow on Korea’s economic growth and serve as a platform to solve future challenging tasks and he asked for Serbia’s support to Busan.
Prime Minister Han also held dinner meetings and talks with representatives of BIE member countries, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and South Africa, to ask for their support to Busan.
Prime Minister was accompanied by Chairman Chey Tae-won of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon.
Busan is now competing with Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Rome, Italy, for the race to attract the Expo. In the presentation, Prime Minister Han said the Korean new government was committed o hosting the Expo and Korea was seeking to bridge developing and developed countries.
The World Expo is one of the world’s biggest events, along with the World Cup and Olympics. The Word Expo, being held every five years, is a registered expo, different from Korea’s previous recognized expos: 2012 Yeosu Expo and 1993 Daejeon Expo.
The World Expo is expected to attract 34.8 million spectators from countries around the world, and it will have an economic spill-over effects worth an estimated 43 trillion own and have an effect of hiring 500,000 people.
Busan Mayor Park, reelected in the Busan mayoral race, said in an interview that one of his top priorities during his term is attracting the 2030 World Expo to Busan.
The World Expo will leverage Korea and Busan to be catapulted to an advanced country and a global hub city, respectively.
Busan City envisages hosting of the event at the Busan North Port redevelopment area, covering 3.43 million sq. meters from May 1, 2030 to Oct. 31, by investing 4,899.5 billion won.
In a related development, President Yoon participated in a ceremony to inaugurate a civilian committee to provide support to the initiative.
The ceremony, hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), took place at the Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention (BPEX) at the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal on May 31.
Among those on hand at the ceremony and the meeting were KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won, Chairman Christopher Koo of the Korea International Trade Association, Samsung Electronics President Lee In-yong, Hyundai Motor President Kong Young-woon, Chairman Lee Hyung-hee of SK Social Value Committee, LG President Ha Jong-bum, Vice Chairman Lee Dong-woo of Lotte Corp., and POSCO President Chung Tak.
Participants from the government side included Minister Lee Chang-yang of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan, Choi Sang-mok, presidential economic senior secretary, 2nd Vice Minister Choi Sang-dae of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and Kwon Yong-woo, BIE cooperative ambassador.
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