Expo Pyo Purchase Attempt with Hastily Created Diplomatic Office?…Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Not True"

Joguk Innovation Party Claims 'Newly Established to Attract Expo'
Ministry of Foreign Affairs "To Realize Vision of Global Hub Nation"

The government denied the claim made by Kim Jun-hyung, a member-elect of the National Innovation Party, that "the establishment of overseas diplomatic missions was pursued to attract the '2030 World Expo (Expo) hosting site to Busan."

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 2nd, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is continuously promoting the establishment of overseas diplomatic missions to realize the vision of becoming a global pivotal state," adding, "(Kim Jun-hyung's claim) is not true."

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kim, who served as the president of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy during the Moon Jae-in administration, raised suspicions at a press conference on the 30th of last month that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration dangled the establishment of overseas diplomatic missions as bait to gain votes from various countries ahead of the Expo hosting site vote. He claimed, "Three weeks before the catastrophic failure to attract the Busan Expo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly announced plans to establish diplomatic missions in 12 countries in 2024," and added, "Among the 12 countries, 11 had voting rights for the 'Expo hosting country,' so the sudden establishment of missions not previously planned can only be explained by the Busan Expo hosting competition."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs official rebutted, "The selection of target countries included those where South Korea already has embassies but no local missions," and explained, "We comprehensively considered quantitative and qualitative factors such as overall bilateral relations, support for Korean businesses operating abroad, protection of overseas nationals, and provision of consular services, as well as future operational demands." The official further explained, "Regarding the specific establishment of missions, we inevitably consider various conditions such as personnel and budget, and preparation time is also necessary," adding, "We are currently proceeding with the establishment in a phased manner according to priority."