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| Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Chey Tae-won speaks during a press briefing at Haevichi Hotels & Resorts on Jeju Island, Wednesday. Courtesy of KCCI |
By Lee Hyo-sik
JEJU ― Korea will be able to further expand its "economic territory" if its second-largest city of Busan hosts the World Expo in 2030 as the nation forms closer ties with countries in South America, Africa and elsewhere, according to the head of the biggest business lobby here, Wednesday.
"World Expo is not just a mere international event. I think it enables the host nation to explore new markets through its bidding campaign and preparation process," Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chey Tae-won told reporters on Jeju Island. "If Busan wins the bid, we will work more closely with 179 member states (of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE)). This will create new business opportunities for Korean companies in less-known countries."
The BIE is the international body in charge of overseeing the World Expo. Busan is competing with the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh and Italy's Rome. The BIE member nations will pick the host city for World Expo 2030 in November.
Chey, who is also the chairman of SK Group, said that the Busan Expo will help reduce Korea's economic dependence on China, the United States, and other major trading partners, stressing that Asia's fourth-largest economy should make greater efforts to diversify its markets.
"If Busan wins the right to host the Expo, we will be able to more closely interact with 179 countries for the next seven years. This will help us better understand them and do more business with them, which will expand our economic territories and lessen our dependence on the U.S. and China," the KCCI chairman said.
Chey urged Korea to secure new markets amid the escalating U.S.-China conflict, China's slowing growth and other global uncertainties. "Korea will establish closer economic ties with more nations through the Busan Expo. This will certainly elevate our international standing."
The chairman then said that he is optimistic about Busan's chances of winning.
"It is hard to say who the frontrunner is. Saudi Arabia openly says it has secured votes from 120 BIE member states, but I think it is overly exaggerated. But such bluffing can be part of its bid strategy," he said. "We remain optimistic about our chance and continue campaign activities as planned for the remaining 140 days. At this moment, it is difficult to know how many votes we have won."
Korean firms must not abandon China
No matter how difficult it has become for Korean companies to do business in China, they must not abandon it because it is impossible to find replacements elsewhere, according to Chey.
"We cannot just exit from China because it is our largest export market. Things have become harder for Korean firms but they must continue doing business," he said. "They have lost competitive edge in petrochemical and other traditional manufacturing sectors. They should expand their presence in artificial intelligence, the environment and other emerging industries to succeed in China."
The chairman also suggested that companies should not approach the world's second-largest economy as a single market. "China is a huge country, consisting of many provinces. Companies need to implement different strategies for each province."
