Yoon pitches Busan Expo bid at UN through bilateral talks

President Yoon Suk Yeol poses with Czech President Petr Pavel during their summit in New York, Monday (local time). Joint Press Corps

President OKs motion requesting National Assembly's consent for opposition leader's arrest

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk Yeol has made sales pitches for South Korean port city Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030 by holding summits with nine world leaders attending this week's United Nations General Assembly within seven hours after his arrival in New York.

Yoon arrived in the city on Monday morning (local time), beginning his five-day trip, during which he will address the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly and have summits with more than 30 leaders. Before his departure, the presidential office said Yoon will have bilateral summits with 38 countries in New York.

On the first day of his stay, Yoon had one-on-one summits with the leaders of Sri Lanka, San Marino, Burundi, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Montenegro, Turkmenistan, Saint Lucia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yoon explored ideas on improving South Korea's relations with each of them and asked for their support for Busan's Expo bid.

"Busan is home to the world's second-largest transshipment port and the gateway connecting Eurasia and the Pacific Ocean," Yoon was quoted by senior presidential secretary for public relations Kim Eun-hye as saying during the summits.

"The Busan Expo will be the optimal platform that can promote Expo-participating countries' cultures, histories, resources and commodities to the world."

Yoon is making a last-minute push to win support for Busan's Expo bid, as members of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the international organization controlling World Expos, will cast their votes to select the host for the 2030 event at the end of November.

Busan is in a neck-and-neck race with Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Italy's Rome, prompting South Korean envoys traveling the world to promote Busan's bid to say, "it is like playing a coin-flipping game within a limited time."

President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee disembark from the presidential jet after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Monday (local time). Yonhap

While asking for support for Busan's bid during his meetings, Yoon has also been seeking ways to improve bilateral relations with the countries.

During his summit with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Yoon expressed hope for a long-term partnership with Sri Lanka in the fields of development cooperation, labor, climate change, trade and investment. He stressed the necessity to explore programs that can create jobs for young people.

With San Marino's two Captains Regent Alessandro Scarano and Adele Tonnini, Yoon asked for the prompt signing of a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation, and expressed hopes for building a legal basis for their economic cooperation, such as a double tax avoidance agreement.

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With Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, Yoon called for expanded cooperation in agriculture and health and explained Seoul's efforts to increase its partnerships with Africa. Yoon invited his counterpart to the inaugural South Korea-Africa summit to be held in South Korea next year.

During his summit with Czech President Petr Pavel, Yoon asked for the Czech Republic's interest in and support for South Korean companies seeking to participate in a new nuclear power plant project in Dukovany.

Pavel responded that his country wants to expand its cooperation with South Korea in the fields of energy, cars and high-speed trains, and highlighted hopes for battery manufacturing partnerships with South Korea, citing his country's rich reserves of lithium.

President Yoon Suk Yeol poses with San Marino's two Captains Regent Alessandro Scarano, left, and Adele Tonnini during their summit in New York, Monday (local time). Joint Press Corps

Yoon also held a summit with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the two leaders noted their countries' growing cooperation in green growth, such as offshore wind power, eco-friendly ships and sustainable agriculture.

During Yoon's summit with Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic, the latter expressed interest in the two countries' energy partnerships and cooperation with South Korean firms in diversifying energy sources.

With President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan, Yoon noted the importance of construction partnership between the two countries, and Berdimuhamedov asked for South Korean companies' participation in his country's new future city project of Arkadag.

In the summit with Prime Minister Philip Pierre of Saint Lucia, Yoon promised prompt progress regarding Saint Lucia's request for assistance in repairing a cricket stadium in the island nation, and asked for support for South Korea's efforts to strengthen cooperation with Caribbean countries.

During a meeting with Zeljko Komsic, chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yoon said the two countries' trade is growing fast, and promised further efforts to realize the potential of their economic ties based on the two sides' recent agreement on economic cooperation.

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung lies on a stretcher in an ambulance as he is moved from Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul, to another hospital, Monday. Yonhap

Deepening feud with opposition

While engaging in diplomatic events, Yoon approved a motion requesting the National Assembly's consent on arresting main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung.

Lee is facing charges over his alleged involvement in a scandal-ridden land development project in Baekhyeon-dong in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and a company's illegal cash remittance to North Korea.

Arresting a serving lawmaker requires parliamentary consent. The justice ministry delivered the request to the Assembly, and the speaker will announce this at the first regular session after accepting the request, which is anticipated to be Wednesday (Korea time). The motion should be put to a vote within 72 hours, so the Assembly is expected to hold the vote on Thursday.

It will be the second time for the Assembly to vote on whether to consent to Lee's arrest. On Feb. 27, the Assembly rejected the first arrest request based on Lee's alleged involvement in a land development scandal in Daejang-dong, also in Seongnam, and a bribery suspicion involving a football club in the city.

Lee was taken to a hospital on Monday due to deteriorating health on the 19th day of a hunger strike against the Yoon government's running of state affairs.

Yoon also approved the appointments of Kim Dong-cheol, a former four-term lawmaker, as the new CEO of state utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp., and Bang Moon-kyu, the current minister of government policy coordination, as minister of trade, industry and energy.