▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol gives an address to the nation on South Korea's failed bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southeastern city of Busan, at the presidential office in Seoul on Nov. 29, 2023. (Yonhap)

Yoon-World Expo

Yoon apologizes to nation for failure to host 2030 World Expo

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Nov. 29 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol apologized to the nation on Wednesday for failing to host the 2030 World Expo in South Korea's southeastern city of Busan.

Yoon issued the apology during an address to the nation, saying the country's failed bid was due to his own shortcoming.

"Our predictions based on the contacts made by the private and public sectors were far off," he said in front of reporters at the presidential office.

"I offer my sincere apology for disappointing our people, including the citizens of Busan. It is all my own shortcoming," he said.

Busan lost the bid to Saudi Arabia's Riyadh in a vote held in Paris by member states of the Bureau International des Expositions, the body responsible for overseeing the international fair with the potential to generate economic benefits and stimulate job creation.

The Saudi capital won 119 votes against Busan's 29 votes, with Italy's Rome trailing with 17 votes.

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