BIE mission visits Korea to assess Busan for Expo 2030

BIE Administration and Budget Committee President Patrick Specht, right, and the rest of the Enquiry Mission from the organization in Paris arrive at The Shilla Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap

President vows full support for city's bid to host global fair

By Ko Dong-hwan

A delegation from the world's top intergovernmental organization that oversees world expositions arrived in Seoul, Sunday. Coming from Paris where the group is based, the envoys are here to examine whether Busan and Korea can successfully host the upcoming 2030 mega-event.

The Enquiry Mission from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) landed at Incheon International Airport, Sunday afternoon, and then headed to Seoul. The delegation, led by BIE Administration and Budget Committee President Patrick Specht, checked in at The Shilla Seoul in central Seoul.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the delegation will meet the country's ministers and business leaders in Seoul today, including National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin and Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang.

On the same day, they will also have a business luncheon at The Shilla hosted by Chey Tae-won, chairman of both the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and SK Group, and visit Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul in the evening, where a weeklong event is being held to express Korean citizens' desire to host the 2030 event.

The delegation is scheduled on Tuesday to travel to Busan, the southeastern port city which is bidding to host the World Expo 2030. They will check in at Signiel Busan in the city's Haeundae District. They are scheduled to have a dinner with Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon on Tuesday and meet Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan on Wednesday.

The BIE representatives are expected to survey Busan based on the presentations and dossiers provided by the central government and Busan Metropolitan City during their stay in Busan before returning to France, Friday. They will depart via Incheon International Airport.

Visitors to Gwangalli Beach in Busan watch 1,500 drones in the sky on Saturday. An enquiry mission from the Bureau International des Expositions is expected to visit Busan following Seoul during this week. Courtesy of Suyeong District Office in Busan

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Sunday said they will "ignite the full thrust" in catering to the delegation. President Yoon, the prime minister, ministers, 17 metropolitan city mayors and governors across the country and business leaders will fulfill their due roles to support the city's campaign, the office said, adding that Busan is ready to prove its suitability to the delegation.

Prime Minister Han uploaded a Facebook post on Sunday saying that the enquiry report written by the delegation following their Korean visit will be shared with 171 member states of the BIE and thus greatly influence their decision which of the four candidate cities to vote for in the organization's November general assembly.

"This visit will be a watershed moment for us and we've been preparing thoroughly for it," Prime Minister Han said in the post. "Everything is ready now. We checked every nook and cranny over and over again. This is the chance for us to show our country's competence as well as the passion of our citizens for hosting the Expo."

After visiting proposed Expo venues in the city and attending four presentations by top officials from the Expo preparation committee, the BIE mission will crunch the numbers for its headquarters to weigh the city among other contenders ― Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Italy's Rome and Ukraine's Odesa.

The Expo committee, co-chaired by Prime Minister Han and KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won, has been promoting Busan since the central government submitted the city's Expo-hosting bid to the BIE last September.

The event, if held in Busan, will run for six months starting in May 2030. The central venue will be the North Port, an old shipyard spanning over 3.4 square kilometers that has borne witness to the city's entire modern history. Currently undergoing redevelopment, the site will become the city's leading international maritime residential complex following the Expo, according to the committee.

Winning the bid means an additional plaque for Korea's track record of hosting mega events. If Busan is selected as host city, the country will become the world's 12th country and fourth in Asia to have hosted a World Expo ― also called an International Registered Expo. It will also make Korea the world's seventh to have hosted all three of the largest global mega events ― along with the Olympic Games and the World Cup.

Jung Soo-tae, right, chairman of the board of Busan's social community cooperatives association, and his grandson visit Eurasia Platform in front of Busan Station, Saturday, to participate in a walkathon hosted by the city's Dong-gu District Office to celebrate and promote the city's bid to host the World Expo 2030. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Korea aims to host the World Expo 2030 in ways that are the most innovative, convenient and globally far-reaching. Exhibiting the event simultaneously in the metaverse, employing the latest eco-friendly technologies and reaching out to as many developing nations as possible to invite their participation are some of the key goals the country swears to prove. The year marking the 100th anniversary of the BIE's founding also fuels the national determination to impress the world.

Following the field examination in Busan, another round of promotional presentations by the bidding cities is scheduled in Paris in June. The organization will host a general assembly with 171 member states in November to vote on the host city.