Yoon rallies int'l support for 2030 World Expo bid

▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol (behind pulpit) delivers remarks at Korea Night 2023 at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2023. (Yonhap)

Yoon-World Expo

Yoon rallies int'l support for 2030 World Expo bid

By Lee Haye-ah

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday rallied support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

Yoon, who is in Switzerland on a four-day visit, attended the WEF Korea Night 2023 together with first lady Kim Keon Hee. He was the first South Korean president to attend the event since President Park Geun-hye in 2014 and President Lee Myung-bak in 2010.

This year's Korea Night was organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to support South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern city of Busan. It brought together heads of government, including Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and business executives, including Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins.

"Seventy years ago we were faced with the difficulties of war, division and poverty," Yoon said during the event at a hotel in Davos. "We were able to overcome this crisis through solidarity and cooperation with the international community that shared the universal values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, and now we have become an economic and cultural powerhouse recognized by the entire world."

Yoon said South Korea wishes to share its experiences with other nations and step forward together into a better future. South Korea is an open economic power where multinational companies and startups coexist, a leader in cutting-edge industries such as semiconductors and batteries, and a cultural powerhouse that inspires the world with its K-pop, movies and dramas, he said.

"Busan, in particular, is an international industrial and cultural fusion city that is home to the world's second largest harbor hub and host to Asia's largest international film festival every year," he said.

"We will use such characteristics of Busan to pursue the Busan initiative that is a tailored international cooperation program based on each country's demands. Based on that, we will work to produce optimal solutions to help the people of the world communicate and overcome the current crisis," he added.

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