Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun, "Expo Bid Neck and Neck with Saudi Arabia... National Enthusiasm Needed"

On the 17th, Joint Chamber and Busan City On-site Press Briefing

Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun is explaining the status of the Expo bid at an on-site press briefing held on the 17th at Bukhang, Dong-gu, Busan. Photo by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun described the competition to host the 2030 World Expo as a "neck-and-neck race" with Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With the host city decision scheduled for November this year, he emphasized, "How we perform in the remaining nine months by raising national enthusiasm is crucial."

◆Progressive efforts by large corporations and chambers of commerce... Tight competition for Expo hosting= At an on-site press briefing held on the 17th at Bukhang, Dong-gu, Busan, co-hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Busan City, Mayor Park said, "Just a year ago, Saudi Arabia was garnering more support than our country, and I doubted whether South Korea was the only nation supporting us." He added, "However, over the past year, with the new government, the President, Prime Minister, chambers of commerce, and large corporations have been working hard. Internally, we believe the number of countries supporting Korea has nearly caught up to Saudi Arabia."

Mayor Park expressed particular gratitude for the active participation of large corporations, which he said was unlike other events. He stated, "In past bidding wars for events like the Olympics, when a specific large corporation chaired the bid committee, other large corporations tended to be passive. But this Expo has seen very cooperative efforts, possibly due to good relationships among business leaders." He continued, "Especially, the five major groups including SK led by Chairman Chey Tae-won, Samsung, LG, Lotte, and Hyundai Motor are each responsible for different countries to assist in the bid. It is notable that companies with regional ties are actively involved."

On that day, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Busan City explained their achievements in the bidding activities so far and the preparation status for the April inspection team. Attendees included Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun and Jang In-hwa, Chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Busan North Port, the site for the Busan Expo. Photo by Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry

◆Registered Expo five times larger than Recognized Expo... Participating countries invest in construction= The World Expo is called the "economic and cultural Olympics," showcasing humanity's achievements and future prospects in one place, presenting solutions and visions. The Expo Busan aims to host is a registered Expo, known to be five times larger in scale than the Recognized Expo held in Daejeon and Yeosu. Mayor Park explained, "Recognized Expos are planned and the Expo spaces are built by the host country, whereas in registered Expos, participating countries directly bear the construction costs, making it inevitably a profitable event."

He also emphasized that hosting the Busan Expo could serve as a new leap forward for the Korean economy. Mayor Park said, "Since AI ChatGPT has been a hot topic recently, I asked GPT, 'What benefits does hosting the Expo bring to the host country?' and it gave five answers." The responses from ChatGPT were ▲expansion of the nation's overall economic benefits ▲enhancement of national brand ▲development of new infrastructure ▲revitalization of the regional economy ▲important cultural and historical heritage.

Mayor Park stated, "If Busan hosts the Expo, South Korea will become the seventh country in the world to host a registered Expo following the Olympics and the World Cup, symbolizing South Korea's leap to the ranks of the seven advanced nations." He added, "The economic effect is two to three times greater than that of the Olympics or World Cup, and since it lasts for six months, it is expected to attract about 40 million visitors."

Mayor Park stressed, "For South Korea's sustained growth, it is no longer sufficient to have just one hub city, Seoul; two or three hubs need to operate. Among advanced countries, some stagnate, typically characterized by maintaining centralized bureaucracy and a capital-centric monoculture."

He continued, "Through this Expo bid, we want to transform Busan and the southern region into new international hub cities and regions," adding, "we must create another axis of development for South Korea to achieve genuine balanced regional development effects."

Jo Yujang, Head of the Busan 2030 Expo Promotion Headquarters, is explaining Busan North Port, which will be utilized as the Expo site. Photo by Jeong Donghoon

◆Two months left until inspection, Busan raising enthusiasm... "Public interest is essential"= The 2030 World Expo inspection schedule is set to begin in Saudi Arabia on the 6th of next month and will continue for about a month. The visit to Korea is scheduled from April 2 to 7, making it the third country to be visited among the candidates.

The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) inspection deeply evaluates the candidate countries' hosting capabilities and preparation levels, compiling an inspection report. This report is circulated to all 171 BIE member countries and serves as the basis for the host country vote in November. The inspection team is considered the decisive factor in the bidding process. In previous Expo host selections, the country that won over the inspection team was ultimately chosen, underscoring its importance.

Busan City plans to designate the period before and after the BIE inspection team's visit as "EXPO WEEK," conducting various events and promotional activities to boost excitement for the Expo. In particular, from the moment the inspection team arrives in Busan until their departure, every place they visit will be imbued with the spirit of the Expo bid to leave a lasting impression.

The business community is also mobilizing comprehensive domestic and international support. They will host events inviting the inspection team and share opinions and expectations about the Busan Expo accumulated through overseas negotiations. Since June last year, overseas negotiation activities have been conducted in 75 countries. Including activities targeting visitors to Korea, there have been 263 meetings across 104 countries.

Additionally, companies will maximize the use of domestic and international promotional infrastructure, such as large electronic billboards, outdoor advertisements, distribution channels, and sports teams, to further spread enthusiasm. Promotional activities will intensify during the inspection team's visit to generate nationwide interest and excitement.

Park Dong-min, Secretary-General of the Private Hosting Committee, said, "The government, business community, and local governments are all united, sparing no time in preparing for the BIE inspection." He added, "No matter how perfect the program is, public interest is essential, so we ask for much support for the 2030 Busan World Expo going forward."