Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Yoon to make final push in Paris for Busan's Expo 2030 bid
President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee, right to Yoon, walk to leave the presidential jet after arriving in Paris-Orly Airport in France, Thursday (local time). Yoon wrapped up his state visit to the United Kingdom and arrived in France to make last-minute efforts to promote the South Korean city of Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
S. Korea, UK strengthen partnerships in finance, supply chains
LONDON/PARIS — President Yoon Suk Yeol wrapped up his state visit to the United Kingdom, Thursday (local time), and arrived in France to make last-minute efforts to promote the South Korean city of Busan’s bid to host the World Expo 2030.
Despite escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula caused by North Korea's spy satellite launch, Tuesday, Yoon headed for Paris to meet Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) members to support Busan, which is competing with Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Italy's Rome to host the world's largest trade fair.
In Paris, Yoon, accompanied by heads of Korea's major conglomerates, will have luncheons and dinners with the representatives of BIE member nations and make speeches to sell the idea that Busan, the nation's largest port city, should host the 2030 event.
This is Yoon's second visit to Paris due to Busan’s Expo bid this year. In June, he delivered a presentation in front of BIE representatives in Paris, stressing that Busan seeks to host the event to serve as a platform for solutions to crises facing humanity.
In September, Yoon had summits with leaders from more than 20 countries on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia and Group of 20 Summit in India. Later in the month, he met more than 47 national leaders in New York during the United Nations General Assembly.
The host city for the World Expo 2030 will be selected at the BIE’s 173rd General Assembly slated for Nov. 28 in Paris.
President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee, right, pose with Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla during a formal farewell at Buckingham Palace in London, Thursday (local time), as the president ends his state visit to the U.K. AP-Yonhap
During his four-day stay in London, Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee had meetings with King Charles III and the government, and elevated South Korea’s ties with the U.K., which had been relatively undervalued so far, to what both countries called “the highest level of ambition.” However, the outcome appears to be overshadowed by Pyongyang’s satellite launch and subsequent tit-for-tat measures between the two Koreas.
Yoon was the first foreign leader to make a state visit to the U.K. after King Charles III rose to the throne, against the backdrop of the U.K. seeking to expand economic and security partnerships with Asian countries to consolidate its international status after exiting the European Union.
Including a ceremonial welcome and a state banquet, the British monarch rolled out the red carpet for the state visit, paying tribute to South Korea’s political, economic and cultural advances. During the banquet, the king even made jokes in reference to K-pop and later awarded girl band BLACKPINK with Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) medals in the presence of Yoon.
On the political front, Yoon and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed the Downing Street Accord, which will serve as a blueprint for the bilateral partnership that spans national security, defense, science, technology and other fields.
In doing so, the leaders created a new two-plus-two ministerial dialogue involving the foreign and defense ministers of both countries, making the U.K. the third country to hold such a dialogue with South Korea following the United States and Australia.
The leaders also agreed to set up a Strategic Cyber Partnership, which is the first of its kind to be signed by the leaders of each country. This is anticipated to connect South Korea’s cybersecurity network with a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which also includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.S.
On the occasion of the state visit, trade ministers from the two countries announced that they will open negotiations to upgrade the bilateral free trade agreement to reflect the importance of emerging trade agendas.
Also, the two countries agreed to deepen their partnerships on supply chain resilience, digital, cyber and finance through multiple memorandums of understanding (MOUs). In the public sector alone, 31 MOUs, statements, partnerships, agreements were signed during Yoon’s stay.
“I believe that both countries are true blood allies, and there is nothing we cannot achieve in terms of economic cooperation, scientific collaboration and other partnerships,” Yoon said during talks with Sunak, Wednesday.
President Yoon Suk Yeol presides over a National Security Council meeting at a hotel in London, Tuesday (local time), following North Korea's military satellite launch. Courtesy of presidential office
The outcomes, however, were overshadowed by North Korea’s military satellite launch, which was followed by tit-for-tat measures between the two Koreas.
During his state visit, Yoon on Tuesday ordered the government to suspend some parts of a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement, allowing South Korea to restore reconnaissance and surveillance operations near the inter-Korean border area.
A day after the suspension, the North said it would immediately restore all military measures halted under the 2018 agreement, implying a de facto revocation. The North threatened to place its armed forces and advanced military equipment at border areas.
With the South Korean military still doubting whether the satellite is functioning properly, Yoon and Seoul’s presidential office are refraining from making further comments, other than reiterating that the suspension of the agreement was inevitable. Yoon did not mention the North’s satellite launch during his address at the U.K. Parliament or other events that were open to media.