Prime minister confident about World Expo 2030 in Busan

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, third from left, talks with reporters at a luncheon after delivering a presentation to promote Busan's bid to host World Expo 2030 during the general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of Prime Minister's Office

By Ko Dong-hwan

With the global competition to host World Expo 2030 in full swing, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo didn't hide his confidence from reporters that the honor would ultimately fall to Busan.

In a meeting with reporters shortly after the Korean team's presentation at the general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris, Tuesday (local time), Han seemed unafraid of losing to Riyadh or Rome, two of the other candidate cities in the second round of the competition. Ukraine's Odesa and Russia's Moscow dropped out of the first round of the race.

"Nobody doubts Busan's capability to exhibit and host the event," Han told the Korean reporters. "I assure you that Busan is more attractive and diverse than the cities it is competing with."

He met the reporters after taking to the podium in front of the representatives of 170 BIE member states. Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, a Hyundai Motor researcher as well as an Ethiopian researcher at Chungnam National University in Korea followed Han in promoting the city.

The contesting cities share similar themes, from climate change to inequality, compassion and technologies, Han admitted. He said, however, that there will be a "slight but definite difference depending on how you play with them."

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo delivers a presentation during the general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris, Tuesday (local time). Courtesy of Prime Minister's Office

Han was familiar with Paris since he previously served as Korea's representative to the OECD, which is based in the city. In his speech, which lasted over four minutes, he used English and French, standing out among the competing countries' speakers as the only one using French.

The prime minister decided at the last minute to join the Korean representatives in Paris. He had originally planned to do so in the fourth or fifth round of the competition, which would be closer to when the BIE would make its final decision, scheduled for late 2023.

"I thought we had better show quickly that our country has a strong commitment to host the Expo," Han said. "So, I decided to show up earlier than I had planned originally. I might come again (for further rounds of the competition) if it's necessary."

K-pop boy band BTS will still serve as international ambassadors for the country's bid to host the event, despite the latest update the band will halt group activities indefinitely, according to Han. "They had previously agreed to do the job so that doesn't matter really," he said.

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