SK’s Chey travels halfway around the world for final Busan Expo pitch [EXPO BID 2030]

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is making his final pitch to promote Busan as the host of World Expo 2030, bidding for a fruitful finale to his one-and-a-half year journey on the campaign.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won sits in the economy class section of an airplane while making a trip to a Bureau International des Expositions member state to promote Busan's bid for the World Expo 2030. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is making his final pitch to promote Busan as the host of World Expo 2030, bidding for a fruitful finale to his one-and-a-half year journey on the campaign.

Chey, who serves as the chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and the co-chair of the World Expo 2030 Busan Bid Committee, uploaded a photo of himself sitting in the economy section of an airplane on Friday as he headed to one of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) member countries in a last-minute rally for their support.

"Now there's really only five days left," Chey said in the post uploaded on his Instagram account.

"At first, it really was nearly an impossible game where there was hardly any chance for [Korea] to win. But with the Korean government and many companies giving their all-out effort, we have done a lot of catching up and we are at a point now where nobody can easily tell who will win. I am also doing everything in my power to earn even just one more vote by visiting new countries every day and meeting their prime ministers and cabinet. For now, I will do my very best until the very end for the expo."

Chey arrived in Paris in early November for the expo campaign, but only stayed briefly as he was either invited to or voluntarily visited neighboring countries in Europe and Latin America to do last minute campaign activities, according to the KCCI.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won meets with delegations from Bureau International des Expositions member countries. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

He visited seven countries within 10 days, flying some 22,000 kilometers (13,670 miles) which is equivalent to halfway around the world.

"The country in question requested a visit saying it wanted to look deeper into Korea's strategy," the KCCI said. "Also, the visit was to identify swing voters who have yet to make up their minds and persuade them to cast their vote to Korea."

That partially explains why Chey was flying in an economy seat rather than in his own private plane or in business class.

"The meeting schedules were very fluctuant as the counterparts were high-ranking officials, which is why businesses seats were either sold out or it was too late to get approval to operate a private plane," an industry source with the knowledge of the matter said.

That is why Chey joined President Yoon Suk Yeol and his business delegation belatedly in Paris. The presidential delegation, which comprises of Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung and LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, arrived in Paris on Thursday purely for expo promotion purposes, and Chey joined them on Friday.

Team Korea plans to rally BIE member states' votes for Busan up until the last minute.

A fleet of black cab taxis showing Samsung Electronics' promotional banner for Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030 are lined up in London. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics has already been putting up outdoor advertisements and playing advertorial videos for Busan's expo on large electronic displays at major European cities including London and Madrid. Black cab taxis wrapped with promotional banners have also been roaming the streets of London.

LG also unveiled 2,030 buses wrapped with Busan expo advertisements early this month that will operate in various routes of Paris, making stops at the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum and Avenue des Champs-Elysees.

The vote to decide the host of World Expo 2030 will happen on Tuesday in Paris at the 173rd general assembly of the BIE, where 182 member states will cast their votes anonymously. Korea's Busan competes against Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Italy's Rome.

LG wrapped 2,030 buses with Busan's World Expo 2030 banner in Paris. [LG CORP]

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]