People Power Party: "Busan Expo, We Did Our Best... Sweat and Efforts Will Not Be in Vain"

The People Power Party stated on the 29th regarding the failure to secure the 2030 Busan Expo, "We did our best," and added, "The sweat and effort of the government, businesses, and citizens working as one will never be in vain."

Park Jeong-ha, the chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, commented on the failure to secure the Expo in Busan at the 173rd General Assembly of the International Bureau of Expositions (BIE) held in Paris, France, where Busan lost to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He said, "Although the long journey to secure the 2030 Busan Expo has ended, our united effort to do our best until the very end was enough to move the whole world."

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo held a press conference on the 28th (local time) at the Palais des Congr?s on the outskirts of Paris, France, after Busan was eliminated in the vote to select the host city for the 2030 World Expo at the 173rd General Assembly of the International Bureau of Expositions (BIE). Photo by the Prime Minister's Office

At the BIE, Busan was eliminated after receiving 29 votes out of 165 member countries participating in the vote. Riyadh won the Expo hosting rights with 119 votes without a runoff. Rome, Italy, received 17 votes. Until just before the general assembly, expectations were high that Busan would have a close contest with Riyadh, but the final result showed a difference of 90 votes.

Regarding the failure to secure the bid, Chief Spokesperson Park evaluated, "It is an unfinished success, but we saw the strength of the Republic of Korea once again," and said, "The government, the National Assembly, businesses, and all citizens did their best as a 'one team' until the very end." He continued, "Including President Yoon Seok-yeol, who personally promoted the Busan Expo bid to the leaders of 82 countries, the sweat and effort of the government, businesses, and citizens working as one will never be in vain," and added, "This public-private united bid campaign became an opportunity to showcase the power of the Republic of Korea to the world."

He said, "Once again, I send great applause to the government, businesses, and all citizens who did their best until the end to secure the Busan Expo," and added, "All the people of the Republic of Korea, who worked as one and gave their all until the very end, are a source of pride."