Busan vice mayor for economic affairs drums up support for expo bid

Social Affairs

Published: 07 Sep. 2022, 18:44 Updated: 13 Sep. 2022, 17:45

Busan vice mayor for economic affairs drums up support for expo bid

Busan Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs Lee Seong-kweun speaks during the Korea Economic Forum (KEF) hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily on Wednesday at the Westin Josun Seoul hotel, central Seoul. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Busan Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs Lee Seong-kweun sought support for the city’s bid to host the World Expo in 2030 from foreign missions and business leaders, highlighting the explosive growth Busan has seen since the Korean War.

Lee gave a special presentation on the southern port city’s candidacy for the 2030 World Expo during the Korea Economic Forum (KEF) on Wednesday held at the Westin Josun Seoul hotel, central Seoul. Over 100 ambassadors, domestic financial leaders and members of Korea's major corporations participated in the annual forum hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily.

World Expos held in the early days were venues to show off new technologies and inventions, but in recent years, they have become a forum to find solutions to the challenges facing humanity and to present new visions.

Held every five years, World Expos are considered one of world’s three “mega events,” along with the Olympics and the World Cup, thanks to the enormous economic effects they bring to their host nations. Currently, Korea’s second-largest city is up against Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and Italy's Rome to host the 2030 expo.

Lee noted that Busan is a living testament to Korea's “great transformation” of the past, present, and future.

“Even amid the ruins of the Korean War, Busan has embraced the refugees of war from all over the country and built up the energy of openness and innovation,” he said.

“Based on such energy of convergence, Busan spearheaded the great transformation of Korea’s economy by cultivating not only the light industries such as lumber, textile and food processing, but also the automobile industry,” said the former Korean Consulate General in Kobe, “and it was the city that gave birth to global companies such as LG and CJ.”

Not only is Busan the home of today’s leading domestic businesses, but also of K-culture, Lee added.

“Busan is a city of soft power,” he said, citing the annual Busan International Film Festival, Busan Contents Market, game exhibition G-Star, and One Asia Festival, which is the largest concert of its kind in Korea.

Riding on the crest of the K-wave, the maritime city appointed Netflix Korea's “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae and K-pop boy band BTS as honorary ambassadors for the city's bid. The group is set to hold a free concert on Oct. 15 in Busan to support the city’s candidacy, and also will introduce the proposed site for the organizer Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) inquiry mission in March next year.

“We want to have a campaign that is based on humanity and international cooperation,” Lee said.

Themes proposed by Busan City for the World Expo 2030 [BUSAN METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Busan's proposed theme for the World Expo 2030 is “Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future.”

Under this, three sub-themes have been selected — “Sustainable Living with Nature” to reach carbon neutrality for humanity; “Technology for Humanity” to make sure that economic growth and industries can be reimagined with innovative technology; and “Platform for Caring and Sharing” to overcome the conflicts and changes and rations and classes or races so that the city can work toward a more creative collaborative future.

Lee vowed to work together with developing countries to build environmentally-friendly infrastructure and on digitalization, such as introducing the world’s first floating marine city in Busan in collaboration with UN-Habitat.

“Today to address the climate crisis, the pandemic and the gaps among countries and individuals, what we need is solidarity and cooperation of all countries in the world,” Lee noted.

“After going through the various stages of growth and development from being one of the poorest countries to becoming a top ten economy in the world, I believe Korea can be the bridge,” Lee said.

“Busan is definitely the best example of the Korean success story — transformed from a historical, small fishing village to a metropolitan city of 10 million plus people today,” Nemanja Grbic, ambassador of Serbia, told the Korea JoongAng Daily after attending the forum. “I think Korea definitely has the qualities and the capacity needed to organize an event as big as the expo.”

Representative from Korea’s major corporations supporting Busan’s bid for the World Expo 2030 pose for a photo during the Korea Economic Forum at the Westin Josun Seoul on Wednesday. From left: Hwang Kwan-sik, vice president at Hyundai Motor, Park Zoon-soo, senior vice president at Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Lee Youn-hwan, vice president at Hanwha Corporation, Lee Seong-kweun, vice mayor for economic affairs Busan Metropolitan City, Ko Soo-chan, vice president at Lotte Corporation, Kim Yoo-suk, executive vice president at SK Inc., Chun Sang-pil, head of group global public affairs team at Samsung Electronics and Kim Yun-sup, vice president at Shinsegae. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Grbic added, “It [would be] interesting to see the expo two times consecutively in the far east region — I think that definitely tells the story about the success this region has had.”

Egyptian Ambassador to Korea Khaled Abdel Rahman, right, greets Ko Soo-chan, vice president at Lotte Corporation, at the forum. [PARK SANG-MOON]

“The Busan theme is quite interesting — a big part about that is sustainability, and with climate change, ESG and how big business and government is looking to make a more sustainable future, I think it’s a message that will resonate around the world,” said Jeongmin Park, Deputy Head of Mission of the New Zealand Embassy.

“It’s actually my fourth time watching the expo presentation, but every time I see it I love it even more,” Dominican Republic Ambassador Federico Alberto Cuello Camilo said.

Kim Tae-ho, chief operating officer (COO) of HYBE (left), and Lee Seong-kweun, Busan vice mayor for economic affairs, exchange greetings during the forum. [PARK SANG-MOON]

“I regret, however, that there isn’t enough emphasis on the values, the common values that unite Korea with us — the fact that Korea is a land of liberty, freedom, free communications and equal rights for all,” Cuello Camilo added. “These issues need to be emphasized strongly because they clearly make a difference in [the bid to host the expo].”

Busan has proposed a plan to hold the World Expo in Busan North Port from May 1 to Oct. 31, 2030. It submitted a detailed candidature dossier to the BIE on Sept. 7. The winning city will be chosen at the end of 2023.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]