Foreign Minister Park Jin on Expo: "Regretful and Responsible... Apologize to the People"

Minister Park Jin, Amid Speculation of Expo Responsibility Change
Hesitates to Comment on Position Questions, Saying "Not Appropriate"

Park Jin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has been subject to replacement rumors amid responsibility issues related to the Busan Expo, is responding to reporters' questions as he enters the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 30th. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Foreign Minister Park Jin said on the 30th regarding the failure to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan, "Ultimately, I feel sorry to the people."

Minister Park made this remark while attending the plenary session of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, adding, "I am regretful and feel a sense of responsibility because we did not achieve a good result this time." In response to a question from Park Byung-seok of the Democratic Party asking, "Why did you give an optimistic assessment that it could be hosted until the last day?" Minister Park replied, "Even if the first round was difficult, we approached the hosting activities with hope that we could win in the second round."

Minister Park elaborated, "No one enters a competition thinking they will lose once the war has started. Although we were at a disadvantage, we ran with the mindset that if we do our best, we can win." However, he added, "I think there are both losses and gains," and said, "Our diplomatic network has been expanded, economic security has been strengthened, and the status of our national power has risen. Personally, I hope that we take this failure as a lesson and achieve the dream that Busan could not accomplish."

Regarding the cause of failure, he mentioned, "There could be various factors, but first of all, we entered the hosting activities as a latecomer, and although the public and private sectors worked together diligently, I think it was still insufficient."

Meanwhile, amid President Yoon Seok-yeol's announcement of a major cabinet reshuffle, there are rumors of replacing Foreign Minister Park Jin in connection with the Expo hosting failure. In a national address on the 29th of last month regarding the failure to host the Busan Expo, President Yoon said, "The predictions seem to have been very off," and added, "Please consider all of this as my own shortcomings."

When asked by reporters at the National Assembly about the replacement rumors, Minister Park said, "I do not think it is appropriate to discuss my position at this time," and refrained from further comment.

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