Korea kick-starts bid to host Busan Expo 2030

SEJONG -- South Korea on Friday finalized its bid to host the World Expo 2030 in its second-largest city of Busan, and announced it would send in the formal bid to the Bureau International des Expositions on Sept. 7.

The bidding committee, led by the co-chairs Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Chey Tae-won, hammered out the last details of the bidding plan at a meeting in Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

A task force dedicated for the expo bid has carried out full-fledged efforts to represent distinctive merits of Korea and Busan over the past two years.

Under the proposal, some of the main characteristics the expo should incorporate include the metaverse, carbon neutrality, state-of-the-art technology and K-contents.

“The Korean delegation is scheduled to submit a bid to the BIE on Sept. 7 as an official process,” the ministry said. “Since then, the committee will continue to make every effort to win international support (from member countries as many as possible) by conducting active promotion activities.”

Prime Minister Han stressed the necessity of a strategic approach, saying that he “predicts a kindled competition after submission of bids (among contenders next month).”

KCCI chairman Chey also expressed a willingness to expand supporting manpower from the private sector.

The venue for the World Expo 2030 will be announced through a vote during the 173rd General Assembly of the BIE, which comprises 170 member states, in November 2023 after a chain of procedures, involving due diligence, which is temporarily slated for March 2023.

The World Expo is comparable to other major international events such as the FIFA World Cup, Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

The 2020 World Expo was held in Dubai from October 2021-March 2022, after being postponed in the wake of the pandemic.

Busan City forecasts that the expo could draw more than 50 million visitors between May 1 and Oct. 31, 2030, should it win the bid.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)