Yoon Suk-yeol's all in on Busan's World Expo bid

President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed his government's all to support the bid for Busan to host the 2030 World Expo.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, front row center, poses for a photo with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and other business executives and officials to launch a committee supporting Busan’s bid for the 2030 World Expo at Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center Tuesday. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed his government's all to support the bid for Busan to host the 2030 World Expo.

Yoon said Tuesday he might appoint a special presidential envoy for the bid at a strategy meeting attended by some 30 key figures from government, business, the parliament and public institutions.

A committee comprised of business leaders was also launched at the Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center (BPEX), led by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also serves as head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

The strategic meeting was the first public-private joint meeting in which the new president checked on the status of the bid and discussed ways of making the bid succeed.

Yoon called Korea's bid for the World Expo "a necessary task" from a national perspective and "a valuable opportunity for Korea to lead in global issues and share its experiences and strengths with the international community."

Yoon said that through the Expo, Busan could be "reborn as a world-class city" and that the southern region including Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang is expected to become a base for "leading the economic development of Northeast Asia."

He stressed the role of Korea's overseas diplomatic missions in promoting the bid and asked the Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry to get behind such efforts.

Top executives of major conglomerates including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG, Lotte, Posco, Hanwha, GS E&C, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Shinsegae and CJ ENM attended the event.

Yoon also toured the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal, which would be the site of the Expo.

Earlier Tuesday, in an address to mark the 27th National Oceans Day in Busan, Yoon pledged to turn Korea into a "new maritime power" through establishing stable shipping supply chains and advanced infrastructure technology.

He vowed to keep his promise to make Busan a center for the country's economic development.

The competition for the 2030 World Expo looks to be a three-way contest between Busan, Rome and Riyadh.

Russia last week withdrew its bid for Moscow to host the World Expo, and Ukraine's Odesa, another competitor, is also expected to drop out soon.

The host country of the World Expo will be chosed by the 170 members of the Paris-headquartered intergovernmental organization Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in a general assembly in November 2023.

The World Expo is compared to other major international events like the World Cup and Olympics, although they run for shorter periods. If Korea wins, it will become the seventh country to host all three international events.

The World Expo is expected to run nearly six months, from May to October 2030. Busan expects the Expo to draw over 50.5 million visitors. Korea launched efforts to bid for the World Expo Busan in 2019.

Actor Lee Jung-jae, star of the Netflix hit "Squid Game," is the celebrity ambassador for the Busan Expo bid.

The 2020 World Expo was held in Dubai from October 2021 to March 2022, delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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