Four conglomerate leaders to travel to Paris for ‘Expo PT’

It has been confirmed that the heads of major conglomerates are preparing for another joint business trip later this month. They are discussing that they will attend the “2030 World Expo (Expo)” competition presentation (PT) scheduled to be held in Paris, France to help attract the Busan Expo and then visit Hanoi, Vietnam to seek business cooperation between Korea and Vietnam.

According to the business circle on Friday, plans for major business leaders including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, and LG CEO Koo Kwang-mo to visit Paris from June 19 to June 21 to support the expo, followed by them joining the Hanoi Economic Mission from June 22 to June 24 are being actively reviewed. To this end, the four major groups are finalizing their schedules. Joining in the Hanoi schedule by Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is reported to be highly likely as well.

In Paris, the 4th competition PT hosted by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) is scheduled for June 20, and an official reception (welcome banquet) is scheduled for the next day. As the host country will be decided by the BIE members' vote immediately after the 5th and final competition PT at the end of November, the Paris schedule will likely be the final and most decisive battleground of the EXPO bidding war.

Busan is competing for venues with Riyadh of Saudi Arabia, Rome of Italy, and Odessa of Ukraine. “Heads of major corporate groups and hundreds of local officials who have made great efforts to attract the Busan Expo until now are committed to putting forth concerted efforts as much as possible to attract the Expo,” an industry insider said.

The leaders are expected to go on a business trip to Hanoi immediately after the reception in Paris on June 21. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry invited businesses to participate in the upcoming economic delegation by Friday. In Hanoi, plans for economic cooperation between the two countries, the signing of MOUs among major companies in future new industries, and meetings related to exports and investments are expected to be held.

Amidst the U.S.-China conflict and global supply chain restructuring trends, Vietnam, which is quickly becoming a rising star of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is home to production bases of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, and distribution networks of major companies such as Lotte Group.

Coming into 2023, the heads of the five major conglomerates have been acting as “economic diplomats” at home and abroad. They accompanied President Yoon Suk Yeol on his visit to the United Arab Emirates and Davos, Switzerland in January, followed by the President's visit to Japan in March and the U.S. in April, making their upcoming visit to Paris and Hanoi, their 5th joint business trip this year. Considering that they also attended the Small and Medium Enterprises Conference held in the Presidential Office last month, observations that there is an uptick in corporate leaders' external joint moves hold valid.


Do-Young Kwak now@donga.com