Expo failure sparks 'government accountability' debate... "Collapse of regime trust" "Thanks to Minister Han Dong-hoon"

In response to South Korea's significant loss to Saudi Arabia in the competition to host the 2030 World Expo, criticism from the opposition parties poured in. There were pointed remarks that the Expo was approached too politically, as well as painful critiques that the main cause was the involvement of personnel lacking expertise. President Yoon Suk-yeol's unusual apology was also seen as a move made with the upcoming general election in mind.

Yoo In-tae, a senior member of the Democratic Party and former Secretary-General of the National Assembly, said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 30th, "The disappointment felt by our people this time is not just about 'simply failing,' but about all the fuss beforehand. Everyone acted as if it would succeed, but this government has shown how incompetent it is and whether it can be trusted," adding, "It feels like this has severely undermined the public's trust in this administration itself."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The day before, Saudi Arabia won the bid to host the Expo by securing 119 votes out of 165 countries participating in the first round of voting at the 173rd General Assembly of the International Bureau of Expositions (BIE) held at the Palais des Congr?s on the outskirts of Paris, France. South Korea received only 29 votes.

In response, President Yoon stated in a 'Message to the People,' "As the president who led and was responsible for the Expo bid, I sincerely apologize to the citizens of Busan and all our people for disappointing you." Former Secretary-General Yoo evaluated President Yoon's unusual apology by saying, "It felt like the election is approaching," suggesting it was a move with the general election in mind.

Former Blue House Protocol Secretary Tak Hyun-min also pointed out that political judgment, such as President Yoon personally giving the presentation (PT), led to the large margin of defeat. On MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' he said, "This achievement should have been regarded as a national achievement that transcended party lines, but there were continuous efforts to make it the president's achievement," adding, "For example, President Yoon suddenly attended the fourth PT, which he did not have to, and presented himself as if, as the sitting president, he could persuade many countries."

He also criticized the involvement of personnel lacking expertise. He said, "While presentations are entrusted to others, critical decisions are made by non-experts. A typical example is Jang Sung-min, the Future Strategy Planning Officer at the Presidential Office, who can be considered the top person responsible for this project," adding, "Advertising is entrusted to experts, but non-experts make judgments about the content of the advertisements. Ultimately, expertise disappears, leaving only the tastes of non-experts."

Opposition figures also raised the 'government responsibility theory' regarding the Expo failure through social media. Former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae wrote on SNS, "Thanks to the minister who couldn't even unlock the password, I learned that 'Malta' and 'Andorra' are countries on Earth," adding, "Thanks to President Kopi, I realized that rushing a summit to set a Guinness World Record is not something to laugh at but to applaud and admire. Oh, what a tragedy. The nightingale must have cried every night to get 29 votes," seemingly targeting Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon and President Yoon.

Nam Young-hee, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, also sarcastically wrote on SNS, "Thanks to Salesperson No. 1, we lost narrowly with 119:29:17," adding, "Thanks to the Minister of Justice visiting even Malta for the Expo bid, we were able to lose by this much(?)"