With the decision to select the host of the 2030 World Expo only 20 days away, Korean companies that have been making all-out efforts to support Busan’s bid are making a last-ditch effort to help the Korean port city punch its ticket to host the World Expo in 2030 on Nov. 28 (local time).
According to industry sources on Nov. 8, Samsung’s top executives including Chairman Lee Jae-yong have been intensively carrying out activities to help Busan’s bid to host the World Expo in 2030 since its beginning. Samsung Electronics, the flagship company of Samsung Group, has been promoting the Busan Expo 2030 around the world by showing the bid committee’s promotional videos on large LED billboards at major landmarks around the world, including London’s Piccadilly Square and Hong Kong’s Entertainment Building.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, private-sector chairman of the bid committee, and key SK executives are traveling around the world to promote the bid. Chey has already traveled to Paris, France, for the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) General Assembly last weekend, and is expected to stay in Europe, mainly in Paris, for one-on-one meetings with movers and shakers until Nov. 28.
Hyundai Motor Group is running large-scale outdoor advertisements in Paris for the month of November to promote Busan. LG Group also held an event on Nov. 6 to unveil a Busan Expo bus at a cafe on the Seine River near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and placed advertisements with messages wishing for Busan to host the World Expo on 2,028 city buses in Paris.
Saudi Arabia, the nation which Korea has to beat to bring the World Expo to Busan, is attracting voters with its powerful oil money led by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and Aramco Chairman Yasir Osman Al-Rumayyan, who doubles as the head of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. In response, Korea’s large business groups, which have proven their competitiveness in the global market, are stepping up their efforts, keeping the bidding race up in the air.