President Yoon Holds Drinking Party with Chaebols in Paris Four Days Before Expo Vote

Meeting with Lee Jae-yong, Chey Tae-won, Chung Eui-sun, and others at a high-end Korean restaurant
Yoon's 12 gatherings this year with conglomerate heads

President Yoon Suk-yeol was confirmed to have had a dinner gathering with conglomerate chairpersons at a Korean restaurant in Paris, France, on November 24, 2023 (local time). This was four days before the vote for the host city of the 2030 World Expo. The meeting was attended by Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group; Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group; Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG; and Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, among other conglomerate leaders.

President Yoon Suk-yeol (right) is greeting Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun (from left), Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo as he enters the 172nd General Assembly of the International Bureau of Expositions (BIE) at the Palais des Congr?s in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris, on June 20, 2023 (local time), during his visit to France to support the bid for the 2030 World Expo in Busan.

According to a report by Hankyoreh, the dinner took place at a high-end Korean restaurant that opened in 1994. A restaurant official told Hankyoreh, “President Yoon, Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Chairman Chey Tae-won, Chairman Chung Eui-sun, Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and other business leaders all came for dinner.” Although the exact number of attendees and the dining hours were not disclosed, based on statements from representatives of the five major groups, it is known that the dinner gathering without aides lasted from around 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

President Yoon arrived in Paris on the 23rd to promote Busan’s bid for the Expo. On the 23rd, he hosted a dinner at a Paris hotel, inviting over 60 members of the diplomatic corps stationed in Paris and the international expo delegation. On the following day, the 24th, he attended a national day reception hosted by the French Embassy at the Palais Brongniart in Paris to continue his Expo promotion activities. Chairpersons Lee Jae-yong, Chung Eui-sun, Koo Kwang-mo, and Shin Dong-bin also attended the reception, and the dinner gathering with President Yoon and the conglomerate leaders took place immediately after the reception.

The dinner on the 24th was the day before the president left Paris after a 2-night, 3-day schedule to return to Korea. President Yoon boarded his return flight on the 25th and arrived back on the 26th. While it was a dinner the day before his departure, the chairpersons’ activities, who said, “Time is money (Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK),” meeting with various prime ministers and cabinets in different countries every day until the vote on the 28th to secure even one more vote, faced criticism for negatively impacting their efforts. Within the five major groups, there are concerns that the dinner held during a time when efforts should have been focused on securing the Expo may be seen as out of touch with public expectations.

In addition, there has been criticism recently regarding President Yoon’s mobilization of conglomerate chairpersons for various events. On December 6, he staged a tteokbokki eating show at Busan’s Kkangtong Market with seven conglomerate chairpersons including Lee Jae-yong, and on the 11th, he visited the Netherlands with Lee Jae-yong and Chey Tae-won. It is known that President Yoon has held official meetings with conglomerate chairpersons 12 times this year alone.

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