Hyundai Motor Group Launches Campaign to Attract Busan World Expo in Latin America

On the 28th of last month (local time), Jang Jae-hoon, President of Hyundai Motor Company (third from the left), held a meeting regarding the bid for the Busan World Expo with both parties' officials at the Presidential Palace in Asuncion, Paraguay, including President Mario Abdo (fourth from the left), Julio Cesar Arriola, Minister of Foreign Affairs (second from the right), Pedro Manquezo Perez, Vice Minister of Commerce and Industry (first from the right), and Woo In-sik, Ambassador of Korea to Paraguay (fourth from the right), and then took a commemorative photo. Photo by Hyundai Motor Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Hyundai Motor Group focused on building consensus on the future vision of the Busan World Expo and the sustainable future growth of Latin American countries in three Latin American countries, requesting support for hosting the Busan World Expo.

Hyundai Motor Group announced on the 2nd that Jang Jae-hoon, President of Hyundai Motor, visited the Bahamas, Paraguay, and Chile consecutively for five nights and six days starting from the 26th of last month (local time) to promote the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo.

During this visit, President Jang met with top-level officials including presidents and prime ministers to carry out practical vote-gathering activities. On October 28th, at the Presidential Palace in Asuncion, Paraguay, he met with President Mario Abdo, Foreign Minister Julio Cesar Arriola, and Deputy Minister of Commerce Pedro Manquezo Perez, among others, requesting support and cooperation to enable the 2030 World Expo to be held in Busan.

Woo In-sik, the Korean Ambassador to Paraguay, also attended the meeting, emphasizing that Busan is the optimal city to host the 2030 World Expo. On the 26th, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Nassau, Bahamas, he held talks with Prime Minister Philip Davis, Minister of Public Works Alfred Michael Sears, and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rhoda Jackson, among other senior officials of the Bahamian government. He explained Korea’s leadership in Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and Busan’s competitiveness as an emerging hub for transportation, logistics, and culture, highlighting Busan’s suitability as a candidate city for the World Expo.

The following day, he visited the Ministry of Economy building in Santiago, Chile, where he met with Salvatore Di Giovanni, Head of the Chile Investment Promotion Agency’s Attraction Headquarters, and Karla Flores, Executive Director of the Investment Promotion Agency, continuing the Busan bid activities.

In the cases of Paraguay and Chile, this visit was a follow-up just one month after a visit by Hyundai Motor Group’s regional headquarters at the end of September, demonstrating Korea’s strong commitment to hosting the Busan World Expo.

At the end of September, Lee Soo-young, Head of Kia’s Latin America Regional Headquarters, and Park Cheol-yeon, Head of Hyundai Motor’s Latin America Sales, visited Chile and Paraguay respectively to support the Busan World Expo bid.

During this visit, President Jang emphasized that considering Latin American countries are promoting renewable energy development and sustainable growth based on abundant resources, Korea is at the center of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as eco-friendly mobility, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and smart cities. He explained the synergy of future cooperation through the Busan World Expo.

He also introduced Busan’s world-class tourism infrastructure and experience hosting major international events such as the Asian Games and APEC Summit, while highlighting Busan’s unique strengths as a hub for global cultural exchange through K-Culture.

The Busan World Expo has set its theme as “The Great Transformation of the World, Voyage Toward a Better Future,” recognizing that fundamental transformation is necessary to solve crises humanity faces such as climate change and inequality. It aims to prepare a sustainable future and address global issues through nature-friendly living and technological innovation.

President Jang also exchanged broad opinions on cooperation plans between the visited countries and Hyundai Motor Group. He explained Hyundai Motor Group’s global leadership in electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and discussed ways to mutually cooperate on the promotion of eco-friendly vehicles, infrastructure development, and eco-friendly energy development such as hydrogen, which these countries are interested in. Furthermore, possibilities for social contribution projects in education, culture, medical care, and health to support the development of local communities in the visited countries were also discussed.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun visited the Czech Republic and Slovakia consecutively on the 27th and 28th of last month, meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger. He explained the theme and goals of the Busan World Expo and Korea and Busan’s competitiveness as a candidate city, requesting interest and support for the Busan World Expo.

Kia President Song Ho-sung also visited Serbia, Albania, and Greece for five nights and six days starting from the 23rd of last month, conducting support activities for the 2030 Busan World Expo bid in the European region.

In this way, Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating its all-out bid efforts by not only having group executives actively engage in on-site support activities globally but also utilizing the group’s global network. Additionally, to create a domestic and international boom for the Busan World Expo bid, Hyundai Motor Group continuously produces and publishes content in English and Korean showcasing Busan’s competitiveness and future vision through its official SNS channels such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.