Korea's biz circles make final pitch to host 2030 World Expo in Busan
This photo shows government officials and business leaders of the public-private committee for Busan's expo bid gathered for the fourth and final meeting on their campaign, Sept. 26. Yonhap
Korea's business circles, led by big conglomerates like SK and LG, are making all-out efforts in the country's final pitch to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan.
With less than two months to go before the selection of the host country, the business community is set to spend the remaining weeks carrying out campaign activities and events to win the hearts of countries across the globe.
The private sector committee for the World Expo bid, headed by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, is scheduled to carry out a series of promotional events in Paris from early to mid-October in the last-minute push for the host bid.
The committee will host an expo symposium, a gala dinner and K-pop performance in the French capital in the second week of October.
Chey, who doubles as the chief of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will spend considerable time in and around Paris to drum up support in the final weeks before the winner is announced.
"It's the harvest season. I'd like to reap every grain of votes. We should put in all our efforts and give it our best until the end. ... I believe the real race begins now," Chey said at the fourth government-private expo campaign committee meeting Tuesday.
Chey stressed the need to maximize the campaign efforts for regions that hold the casting votes, particularly the 20-member Caribbean Community and Common Market and the Pacific Island countries.
"Each country wants to know how sincere we are about the agendas of cooperation that were discussed and pledged. It's time that the government and private sector took quick and bold action," Chey said.
LG is planning to launch expo campaign events in Paris, London and Brussels between October and November.
LG will display a digital signage promoting the Busan expo bid on the display boards of four stores of major French retail chain FNAC.
It also plans to begin running expo advertisements on about 2,000 Paris city buses at the end of October, as well as 300 billboards to be placed in downtown Paris in early November.
LG has displayed various promotional digital signage in major world landmarks as part of its key campaign contributions, including the display at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, Times Square in New York and London's Piccadilly Circus.
Hyundai Motor Group showcased a fleet of 20 art cars promoting Busan, including its Ioniq all-electric models and the premium Genesis sedans, in Times Square in New York during the U.N. General Assembly high-level week in September.
Samsung has also been stepping up its campaign efforts, most recently during the IFA tech show and other establishments in Berlin in early September.
Korea's Busan is one of the three candidate cities for the expo, along with Rome, Italy, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The host city is set to be announced on Nov. 28 in Paris by the Bureau International des Expositions, the international body in charge of overseeing the World Expo. (Yonhap)