Seoul ‘seeking a last-minute reversal’ 50 days ahead of Expo venue vote

The Korean government, the Busan metropolitan city government, and the Korean business community are launching a ‘last-minute bid spurt’ 50 days ahead of the vote for selecting the host of the 2030 World Expo. The government acknowledged that it is struggling compared to its rival Saudi Arabia but believes a ‘last-minute upsetting’ is possible. The Korean government plans to focus its diplomatic efforts from this month on Paris, where the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) General Assembly will be held. The expo venue will be decided by a vote of the BIE's 182 member countries at the organization's general assembly on November 28 in Paris, France.

"We don't know the exact number of votes, but Saudi Arabia seems to be ahead as we started our bid activities late," a senior government official told The Dong-A Ilbo on Sunday. "Some watchers say if no country secures two-thirds of the votes (122), there will be a second round of voting, which is the final round, and if we garner the Italian votes in this round, the result could be positive." Currently, Busan, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, and Rome in Italy are competing. Busan is racing ahead of Rome and behind Riyadh, but it is believed that if Busan draws the votes supported Rome in the first round, it is possible to beat Riyadh in the final round.

Accordingly, the government's strategy is to absorb those votes by focusing on European countries that are likely to support Italy in the first round of voting through a diplomatic campaign in Paris. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's trip to Paris on October 9 to attend a ‘symposium on the 2030 Busan World Expo’ is reportedly based on this strategy. President Yoon Suk-yeol also made an all-out effort to bring the Expo to Busan, holding bilateral talks with 41 countries in New York last month when he visited the United Nations General Assembly.


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