President Yoon apologizes for failure to win World Expo 2030 bid

President Yoon Suk Yeol said he was to be blamed. However, he said the plan of achieving a balanced national development and Korea’s pledge to responsibly contribute to the international community will continue.

President Yoon Suk Yeol apologizes for the failure of Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030 at the president's office in Yongsan on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized to the public for the failure of Busan's bid to host World Expo 2030.

“As a person who was in command of the bid and the person responsible, I am truly sorry,” Yoon said in a televised speech on Wednesday. “Everything is because of my lack of ability.”

However, he said the general plan of achieving a balanced national development that was the foundation of Busan’s World Expo bid and Korea’s pledge to responsibly contribute to the international community will continue.

Yoon praised the united efforts of the public and the private sector during the race, including Busan Mayor Park Hyeong-joon, SK Group chairman and co-chair of the bid committee Chey Tae-won and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

“When I visited Busan in July 2021 before running for the presidency, I had witnessed the Busan citizen’s strong desire to host the World Expo 2030 since 2014,” Yoon said.

“I felt how much the Busan people wanted government support and how much they were disappointed in the lack of interest,” he added. “So I had promised to provide full support from the government to do our best to win the bid for the World Expo.”

“Before I took office, the private sector said it would work jointly with the public sector, which I am thankful for,” Yoon said. “For a year and a half, we had done everything we could without regret.”

He said he alone met with the heads of state from 96 countries 150 times.

“However, the result was far from what we expected after all the private and public sector contacts,” Yoon said. “All of the blame is on my lack of ability.”

“I, as the president, am to be blamed for failing to win the bid with better orchestrating,” Yoon said.

However, the president stressed that the government would continue to push forward with the balanced national development that was the underlying plan of Busan’s bid.

“The Busan’s World Expo bid was not only for the development of Busan,” Yoon said. “It was an attempt of our country leaping forward through balanced national development with Seoul and Busan as the axis.”

He said a nation cannot utilize its maximum potential and grow further if only certain areas are developed while other regions fall behind.

“As the best football plays use the entire field, we must industrialize every corner of our land to move beyond the world’s top 10 countries.”

Yoon said that when mentioning Korea to people outside the country, the only city they recognize is Seoul.

“People’s perception of a country is based on the major cities they recognize,” Yoon said. “In the case of Japan, people around the world recognize two cities - Tokyo and Osaka.”

“I wanted Busan to be known [across the globe],” Yoon said. “ I wanted Seoul and Busan to be known [globally] as the two axis and using these two cities as the basis in bringing development to both the south and the west.”

“We may have lost the bid to host the World Expo, but our balanced national development strategy will continue,” Yoon said.

“We will also push on with the infrastructure development in Busan so that the marine industry, finance, leading technology and digital industry could grow, allowing residents of the southern region, including Jeolla province, to pursue industrial and economic activities without having to move up to Seoul.”

Yoon also promised to continue Korea’s promises to the global community made during its race during the World Expo 2030.

“We said we would return the large amounts of international help that we had received during the Korean War,” Yoon said. “So we pitched that the Busan Expo would be an exhibition of sharing and solidarity.

“That stance remains steadfast.”

While congratulating Saudi Arabia for winning the bid, President Yoon also said the Korean government would fully assist Riyadh in successfully hosting the global event, offering the data, experience and Korea's own assets used in Busan’s bid.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]