Yoon, Korea’s No. 1 salesman, at BIE to drum up support for 2030 Expo

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris next week to drum up support for the Asian country’s bid to host the World Expo 2030.

Yoon, who calls himself “the No. 1 salesman of the Republic of Korea” to show his willingness to attract foreign investment and bring international fairs to Korea, said on Tuesday he wanted to take the opportunity to rally support for Korea at the BIE’s general assembly meeting on June 20-21.

“The government at both the central and regional levels, as well as the private sector, as one team, have made all-out efforts to win the expo bid. Every time I meet with foreign heads of state, I have requested their support for us,” Yoon said at a cabinet meeting.

“Korea’s presentation at the general assembly with all BIE member countries attending will be an opportunity to show its distinct vision for the Busan Expo.”

Korea is competing with Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Italy's Rome and Ukraine’s major port city Odesa to host the international fair. The winner will be decided by a vote of the BIE member countries this November.

If successful, Korea plans to hold the expo in Busan, the country’s second-largest city and biggest port.

YOON’S STATE VISIT TO VIETNAM

President Yoon will leave for Paris on June 19 to attend the BIE meeting, his office said. He is scheduled to have a summit meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on June 20.

Yoon’s trip to France will be accompanied by a delegation of business executives, including the chairmen of Korea’s four largest conglomerates – Samsung Electronics Co.’s Jay Y. Lee, SK Group’s Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Co.’s Chung Euisun and LG Group’s Koo Kwang-mo.

Other business leaders joining the delegation are Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang.

A group of lawmakers will also join them in Paris to support Korea’s efforts to win the expo bid.

Following his stay in Paris, the Korean president will make a three-day state visit to Vietnam on June 22. Yoon will hold a summit with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong on June 23.

Korea’s top business leaders have been appointed as special envoys by the presidential office to go abroad and meet with heads of state and businessmen to drum up their support.

Using their overseas networks, chief executives of Samsung, LG, SK, Hyundai, Lotte and other big companies have been working to bring the World Expo 2030 to Busan.

Industry sources said Samsung is said to be seeking support from 31 countries, including Nepal and Lesotho. SK is in charge of 24 countries, including Malta and Armenia, while Hyundai Motor Group is handling 20 countries, including the Bahamas, Peru and Chile.

LG is seeking support from 10 countries, including Somalia, Rwanda and Kenya, and POSCO is in charge of seven countries, including Uzbekistan.

SK’s Chey, a co-chairman of Korea’s Busan Expo Bidding Committee alongside Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, last week showed up at a Korea-Japan businessmen’s meeting wearing a cast and on crutches following a leg injury to campaign for Korea’s expo bid.

PSY, BTS, OTHER POP ARTISTS JOIN PROMOTIONAL PITCHES

Among those who are leading the government’s promotional pitches as special envoys or in other capacities are pop artists, including Korea’s boyband sensation BTS.

Psy, a famous Korean singer and rapper, will deliver a presentation at the BIE meeting next week, officials said.

Last October, BTS, Busan's official ambassador for its World Expo 2030 bid, held an offline concert in the port city to promote the country’s bid.

HD Hyundai Co., which usually hosts the Dream Concert, Korea’s largest K-pop event, in Seoul, held the gala in Busan last month.

Robots with advanced technology were also employed to appeal to BIE members.

When a BIE delegation visited Korea in April for an on-site inspection of Busan, Spot, a dog-like robot developed by Hyundai Motor-owned Boston Dynamics Inc., guided delegates, including Patrick Specht, head of the organization’s administration and budget committee, for a welcome lunch prepared by Korean business leaders.

“Our bid for the expo in Busan will be a tough challenge. But we have experience overcoming difficulties to host big international events such as the World Cup games in 2002 and the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018,” said SK Group Chairman Chey.

Write to Byung-Uk Do at dodo@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.