Expo failed to overcome Saudi oil money wall

[2030 엑스포 유치 불발]

2030 Expo fails to host Busan
Saudi Arabia 119 – Korea 29 – 伊 17 votes

The ‘Public-Private Korea One Team’, in which the government and the business community mobilized, made all-out efforts to host the ‘2030 World Expo (Expo)’ in Busan, but could not overcome Saudi Arabia, which was led by oil money. BIE member countries selected Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, as the venue for the 2030 Expo following a vote at the general meeting held in Paris, France on the 28th (local time). Korea emphasized, “We will repay the world through the Expo as we achieved prosperity despite the ruins of war with the help of the international community,” but failed. The ambition to use the opportunity for a new leap forward by hosting the Registration Expo, which is considered one of the world’s ‘three major events’ along with the Olympics and the World Cup, has now been turned to the next opportunity.

Busan received 29 votes, falling behind Riyadh, which received 119 votes, as a result of the anonymous electronic voting method at the 173rd BIE general meeting held at the ‘Palais des Congrès d’Iche’ convention center in Paris’ Issy-les-Mulinoes on this day. Rome, Italy received 17 votes. There were no abstentions. Saudi Arabia received more than two-thirds (111 votes) in the first round of voting in which 165 of the 182 BIE member countries participated, beating Korea and winning the right to host the event without a runoff.

After the voting results were announced, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo said, “I feel sorry and ashamed for failing to live up to the expectations of the people. He feels a heavy sense of responsibility. “I humbly accept the results,” he said. It is known that President Yoon Seok-yeol expressed regret after hearing the news of his bid failure, but encouraged those who made a last-minute all-out bid.

Korea started the final presentation (PT) before the vote with the video ‘Busan Seagull’s Dream’, which showed the efforts made to host the Expo since 2014. Five speakers included former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Prime Minister Han, Choi Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and chairman of SK Group, who served as the civilian chairman of the Busan Expo Bid Committee, Busan Mayor Park Hyeong-jun, and Busan Expo public relations ambassador Na Seung-yeon, a former spokesperson for the Pyeongchang Olympic Bid Committee. Former President Ban said in PT, “Busan Expo is a promise of synergy between nature, humans, and technology. They appealed that “the Busan Expo will open the way for future generations,” but it was not enough to turn the situation around.

Busan handed over the right to host the 2030 Expo to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at the 173rd General Assembly of the Organization for International Exhibitions (BIE) held in Paris, France on the 28th (local time). In the first round of voting in which 165 out of 182 member countries participated, Saudi Arabia received more than two-thirds (111 votes), beating Korea, which received 29 votes. The public and private sectors under the ‘Korea One Team’ fought hard for 509 days to host the 2030 World Expo (Expo) in Busan, but it was not enough for our government, which entered negotiations a year later than Saudi Arabia, to overturn Saudi Arabia’s oil money offensive. Saudi Arabia is known to have invested more than $7.8 billion (approximately KRW 10 trillion) to host the Expo under the slogan ‘Era of Change’.

At the voting site, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo said, “I feel sorry and ashamed for not meeting the expectations of the people. He feels a heavy sense of responsibility. “I humbly accept the results,” he said. Choi Tae-won, chairman of the private committee of the bid committee, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and chairman of SK Group, remained in his seat with a stern expression while Prime Minister Han spoke.

The Korean delegation was embarrassed and in a heavy mood when, contrary to expectations, the results of Saudi Arabia’s victory in the first round appeared on the monitor. On the other hand, the Saudi delegation cheered.

Since the Yoon Seok-yeol government formed the Expo Hosting Committee through a joint public-private partnership in July of last year, the bidding war between Korea and Saudi Arabia has been a series of ‘card flipping games.’ A high-ranking government official said, “When our government secures the support of a country, Saudi Arabia takes it back, and then we come back to it, which happened simultaneously across the entire continent.” He added, “There are countries that changed their support within a day or two. “There have been reports coming in,” he said.

At the general meeting just before the vote on the 28th, a fierce war of nerves broke out, with the Saudis immediately snatching away the representative of the member countries as they turned around after greeting the Korean delegation. A war of nerves between the host candidate countries was also detected in the media room. The Saudi delegation, seated opposite the Korean delegation in the media room, applauded and cheered every time their country’s PT was held, to the point where the media room left.

From the middle of this month, when BIE delegations from each country gathered in Paris ahead of the host vote, the information war between the two countries to attract the votes of the other country while consolidating the votes of the supporting countries reached its peak. Information was also received that Saudi Arabia was putting strong pressure on countries that support Korea, so the government kept the number and names of countries it was in contact with secret. It is known that Saudi Arabia, in particular, believed that votes could deviate if its ambassador to Paris voted, so it pressured countries that supported it to send ministerial or deputy minister-level officials from those countries as voters. In response to this, the Korean government is also said to have requested countries supporting Busan to dispatch officials to their home countries.

A government official said, “Although we failed to attract the Expo, we believe that the fact that we did not get caught up in Saudi Arabia’s aggressive oil money negotiations and actively appealed to other countries the industrial infrastructure capabilities and global values ​​that fit the purpose of the Expo was a desired achievement.”

Although it failed to host the Expo, the government led by President Yoon and Prime Minister Han Deok-soo launched an all-out effort. President Yoon visited 12 countries for one year and four months and met with 462 people (110 leaders) from 96 countries, and Prime Minister Han visited 25 countries and met with 203 people (74 leaders) from 112 countries. The total distance traveled by ministers, State Council members, and special envoys to various parts of the world amounts to 9,768,194 km.

President Yoon continued his forced march to meet with the leaders of 47 countries face-to-face at the United Nations General Assembly held in New York in September. When he visited Paris on the 23rd and 24th, he went around every table at every event and shook hands with each and every attendee, including the BIE delegation. The relay calls continued even after returning from the tour.

Prime Minister Han also appealed for support for the Busan Expo by talking on the phone with top officials from four to five countries every day late into the night just this month, when the vote was imminent. An official from the Presidential Office added, “Concerns were raised internally about the political burden if the bid fails, but President Yoon did not hesitate and did his best as the head of the country.”

Paris =

Source: Donga

Mark

Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.