Despite Riyadh’s World Expo victory, Team Korea says Busan gave its best

Diplomacy

Published: 29 Nov. 2023, 03:11 Updated: 29 Nov. 2023, 16:10

Despite Riyadh’s World Expo victory, Team Korea says Busan gave its best

Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, shakes hands with a Saudi official after the fifth and final presentation for Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo at the 173rd general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) at the Palais des Congres in Paris on Tuesday. The presentation came ahead of the BIE secret ballot, through which Saudi Arabia's Riyadh was chosen to host the 2030 World Expo, beating out the Korean port city Busan and Italy’s Rome. [YONHAP]

The presidential office on Wednesday thanked the Korean people, especially Busan residents, for their unrelenting support in the long campaign to host the 2030 World Expo, despite disappointing results.

While Korea gave its best shot in its private-public campaigning efforts over the past one and a half years to promote Busan, Saudi Arabia's Riyadh was selected as the host city of the 2030 World Expo on Tuesday in Paris.

In the first round of voting by the Paris-headquartered Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), Riyadh won a two-thirds majority with 119 votes, beating by a large margin Busan's 29 and Rome's 17 votes.

The votes were cast through an electronic secret ballot at the 173rd general assembly of the BIE, the 182-member international body that oversees the World Expo.

"Although the public and private sectors worked hard as one team, we met disappointing results," Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said in a statement Wednesday. "We would like to express our consolation and gratitude to the residents of Busan and Korean people who waited until late at night for the results and supported Busan's bid."

Immediately after the voting results were announced, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told reporters in a press conference in Paris, "I feel regret and a heavy sense of responsibility for not meeting the people's expectations."

He said he is "very sorry for not being able to fully respond to the support of the people."

Expressing gratitude for the support of the business community, political circles and people who have supported Busan's Expo bid, he said, "We humbly accept the result and will continue to develop the diplomatic assets we have accumulated while traveling to 182 countries."

"Despite difficult conditions, the people of Busan have warmly welcomed the visit of the BIE inspection team and worked together as one," Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon told reporters. "My heart feels heavy because the dreams of Busan citizens have been shattered."

While disappointed by the large margin in the votes, Korean government officials said One Team Korea gave its best shot, uniting the public and private sectors and garnering bipartisan support for Busan's bid.

They pointed out there is always another shot for hosting a World Expo in 2035 or in the future, now that Busan has already gotten its name out there.

Busan faced fierce competitors: Riyadh, a modern metropolis in the middle of the desert, and Rome, a world-renowned tourist destination filled with ancient, medieval and contemporary attractions.

The World Expo, officially the International Registered Exhibitions, dates back to the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 and is hosted every five years. The fair can last up to six months, with international participants constructing pavilions on the Expo venue, attracting millions of tourists and tens of billions of dollars in investment to the host country.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, center, and other members of the Korean delegation, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and business leaders, watch the results of the vote for the host city of the 2030 World Expo in Paris Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Riyadh, from the get-go, has been mentioned as the forerunner with its strong promotion activities, backed by oil money and promises of large investments.

Korea, who was late to expo campaigning efforts, had hoped for a scenario in which Busan advances to a runoff race with Riyadh if one country fails to garner a two-thirds majority in the first round of voting.

Saudi Arabia, however, comfortably beat the other two contenders by winning a two-thirds majority out of 165 countries that took part in the vote, ruling out the need for a second round.

Ahead of the vote, Team Korea united to give a fifth and final presentation at the BIE General Assembly alongside Italy and Saudi Arabia.

Korea's five presenters were Busan Mayor Park, Rah Seung-yeon, a former spokesperson for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics Bidding Committee, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Prime Minister Han and former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

K-pop singer Psy of "Gangnam Style" fame, singer Kim Jun-su and Squid Game actor Lee Jung-jae delivered messages through a video to support Busan's bid.

Colin Thackery, a 93-year-old British veteran of the Korean War and a winner of talent competition "Britain's Got Talent" in 2019, also appeared in a video during the presentation in support of Busan.

The presentation focused on how Busan, representative of South Korea's rapid economic growth after the devastating 1950–53 Korean War, intends to give back to the international community as a country that transformed from a recipient of aid to a donor country.

The Korean government, in a statement, expressed its gratitude to the member countries for supporting Busan and said it would continue to implement "without a hitch" the international cooperation programs pledged during the World Expo campaigning.

People gathered in Busan shed tears Wednesday after the port city’s defeat by Saudi’s Riyadh, dashing their hopes to host the World Expo in 2030. Residents of the city gathered in the Busan Citizen’s Hall in Dong District to watch the voting process in Paris. [YONHAP]

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]