KCCI chairman seeks international support for Busan's bid to host World Expo

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won delivers a speech at the event held in Busan, April 22, to rally support for the southern port city's successful bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Joint Press Corps.

By Park Jae-hyuk

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Chey Tae-won, who is also the chairman of SK Group, is expected to participate in the general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris next month to convince the global organization's members to support Busan's bid to host the World Expo in 2030, according to industry officials, Friday.

Chey is also said to be considering flying to Africa after his visit to the French capital, in a bid to win the hearts of 55 BIE member countries on the continent.

Earlier this month, he was appointed by the presidential transition team as the head of the civilian committee to support Busan's bid.

His appointment was intended for the southern port city to lobby local businesses to help it win the race against Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Italy's Rome and Ukraine's Odessa to be selected as the venue for the World Expo, which is one of the world's three major international events along with the World Cup and the Olympics.

The transition team reportedly asked Chey to play a key role in the project, considering the global networks that the KCCI and the chairman have built up over a long period.

"We will organize a delegation comprised of high-ranking officials as soon as possible, sending special envoys to BIE member countries to convince senior officials there," Lee Hun-seung, head of the presidential transition committee's Busan Expo taskforce, told reporters on Wednesday. "Including Korea's 10 largest conglomerates, businesses also promised to support the government's efforts for the 2030 Busan World Expo."

Once the forthcoming government forms the bid committee under its direct supervision next month, Chey will become its co-leader along with the prime minister.

When President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol attended an event hosted by the KCCI in Busan last month to rally support for the city's successful bid for the 2030 World Expo, Chey promised to support the Yoon administration's efforts to achieve the goal.

"Using the global network, I will convince BIE members and let the whole world know about our bid to host the expo," the KCCI chairman said at that time.

Back then, Yoon met with top executives of the nation's 10 largest conglomerates to encourage them to play an active role in hosting the Busan World Expo.

"Although the government will concentrate its diplomatic capabilities, the economic diplomacy of businesspeople is also very important," he said.

The venue for the fair will be selected through a vote by the 170 BIE member countries in November next year.

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