Korea makes impassioned last push for Busan's expo bid [EXPO BID 2030]

Social Affairs

Published: 27 Nov. 2023, 19:16 Updated: 27 Nov. 2023, 19:35

Korea makes impassioned last push for Busan's expo bid [EXPO BID 2030]

Busan residents on Monday gather for a rally at a square in front of Busan Station, in support of Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in their city, a day before the event's host city is to be chosen. [YONHAP]

With just a day left before the final vote to decide the host city of World Expo 2030, Korea is making a desperate last push to put the port city of Busan on top.

And perhaps breaking out some very big guns to do it.

The secret ballot to be cast by the 182 members of the Paris-headquartered Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international body in charge of overseeing the World Expo, will begin Wednesday midnight, Korea time, and 4 p.m. Tuesday in Paris after the competitors — Korea’s Busan, Italy’s Rome and Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh — give their fifth and final 20-minute presentation as a final pitch to host the mega event.

The BIE stipulates that a country must gather two-thirds of the votes cast to win the election if there are more than two candidates. If none of the three candidates earns two-thirds of the votes cast in the first round, the third-place candidate is eliminated, and the host country will be decided against between the two leading candidates.

The final result of the secret ballot is expected to be announced around 1 to 2 a.m. Wednesday in Korea.

While Korea’s Bid Committee for World Expo 2030 Busan has not revealed who will present for the final presentation, officials connected to the committee have mentioned Ban Ki-moon, former secretary general of the United Nations, and Na Seung-yeon, who served as communications director for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games Bidding Committee.

The presentations will begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday, local time, or 10 p.m. Tuesday in Korea.

Prime Minister Han arrived in Paris on Sunday to make a final appeal for the expo. According to the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday, major government officials and heads of Korean conglomerates, including Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), will be making their final pitches to national delegations until the day of the voting.

The office said its strategy is to meet with countries willing to cooperate with Korea and offer expanded business partnerships through the World Expo in Busan.

“Our goal for the next two days is to ensure that member states that have decided to vote for us keep their decisions and attract those slightly leaning toward Saudi Arabia to us,” Park Sung-keun, chief of staff to the prime minister, told reporters in Paris on Monday.

A photo zone is set up to promote Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo at Haeundae Beach in Busan on Saturday, with a mock-up Eiffel Tower, one of the most prominent symbols of the World Expo, on one side and a blow-up Boogi, Busan's seagull mascot, on the other side. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

Both the government and businesses have been making all-out efforts, visiting Paris to make their last appeal to host the World Expo in Busan.

Heads of six major Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics, SK Group and Hyundai Motor, have visited Paris since last week.

“Everyone is doing their best,” Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong told reporters at Gimpo International Airport as he returned from Paris on Monday.

The city expects an economic effect of around 61 trillion won ($46 billion) and as many as 50.5 million people to visit Busan if it hosts the six-month-long World Expo in 2030.

Busan residents on Monday cheer and show support for the city's bid to host World Expo 2030 near Busan Station. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned to Korea on Sunday after his three-day trip to Paris, where he met with representatives from BIE member countries in person to promote the advantages of hosting the expo in Busan.

In Busan on Monday, some 300 residents gathered near Busan Station, cheering and showing their support for the expo bid, waving the Taegukki, or the Korean national flag, and the flag of the expo.

Public gatherings supporting the expo will likely continue through the voting, with around 1,000 Busan residents expected to gather at Busan Citizen Hall in Dong District at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday to watch the final presentation together.

Busan Mayor Park will update the gathering via livestream from Paris, too.

Busan residents have been going all out to exhibit their enthusiasm for the expo bid since the willingness and desire of candidate cities and countries are significant evaluation factors.

On Saturday, a massive hot air balloon hung above Busan's Haundae Beach with the slogan, “World Expo 2030 Busan, Korea.”

A mock-up of the Eiffel Tower, one of the most prominent symbols of the World Expo, and a giant Boogi, Busan’s seagull mascot, also appeared at the beach the next day. Busan residents and tourists left supporting messages for the city’s Expo bid on a message board next to Boogi.

K-pop phenomenon BTS hosted a free concert at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium in October to support the seaside city’s bid to host the World Expo 2030, entertaining a crowd of 50,000.

In April, around 5,500 people gathered near Busan Station to greet the BIE delegation during their visit to the city.

During the visit, Dimitri Kerkentzes, secretary general of the BIE, stressed that “the heartfelt warmth” of the Busan citizens stood out during their stay.

“The citizens of Korea are the biggest selling point,” the secretary general said.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]