Busan lost bid to host Expo because of “Saudi prince’s attempt to strengthen his power and vote buying”?

The Republic of Korea delegation (from right), Chung Eui-sun, chairman of the Hyundai Motor Group; Ban Ki-moon, former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon; Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon; Prime Minister Han Duck-soo; Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Jang Sung-min, senior secretary to the president for future strategy, show their disappointment after Busan lost the bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the 173rd General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) held at Le Palais des Congrès d\'Issy in the outskirts of Paris, France on November 28 (local time). Yonhap News

On November 29, Kim Yi-tae, a professor of tourism and convention marketing at Pusan National University who served as an advisor in the Bid Committee for World Expo 2030 Busan, cited the Saudi Arabian prince’s efforts to strengthen his reign as the reason Busan lost the bid and argued, “He is trying to secure the loyalty and support of the Saudi Arabian people by turning their attention to various mega events, such as the World Expo and Winter Olympics.”

Kim shared his thoughts with reporters in Paris, France shortly after Busan lost its bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) on November 28 (local time). Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia secured 119 votes from BIE member states, beating Busan (29 votes) and Rome (17 votes) to host the 2030 World Expo.

“The Republic of Korea came together under President Yoon Suk-yeol and implemented an organic strategy where the government, the city of Busan and businesses all played their parts, but unfortunately, we lost to Riyadh,” Kim said, adding, “If we look for the reason why we lost, it was the Saudi Vision 2030, which focuses on economic reforms to change and improve the national image by strengthening royal power.”

The professor also argued that Saudi Arabia practically bought votes. “Saudi Arabia wanted to build Riyadh by aggressively inputting oil money, investing 4.3 quadrillion won by 2030,” he said. He further said, “Of this money, they invested over 10 trillion won in the bid to host the Expo and handed out an astronomical amount of development loans and aid to underdeveloped countries, so you could say votes were bought.”

The war in Ukraine and conflict between the U.S. and China were also cited as reasons for the defeat. Kim said, “Deepening economic woes amid the turbulent political situation around the world, such as the conflict between the U.S. and China, triggered by various factors like the war in Ukraine and COVID-19, also played a role.” Kim argued that this made it easier for member states to be shaken by reality rather than base their decisions on an objective assessment of capacity, pushing many underdeveloped countries to vote for Saudi Arabia.

“From what I know, the 2025 Expo in Osaka Kansai also contributed to our defeat, because although it is not mandatory, the members did consider continental distribution based on common practice.”

The advisor for the Busan bid committee seemed to look outside for reasons of the failed bid rather than inside. His public remark that underdeveloped countries fell for Saudi Arabia’s economic power and that the Saudi prince’s attempt to distract the people’s attention is likely to stir controversy. His remarks more or less went against the government’s announcement shortly after the bid failed, that the government would manage the diplomatic network it established in the process of making the bid as an asset.