Chairman Chung says the event will be the best-ever marine expo


Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo on Thursday pledged continued support for the 2012 Yeosu Expo during his visit to the southern coastal town four months ahead of the fair’s opening.

Hyundai Motor, one of the biggest sponsors of the expo, will provide cars for the three-month-long expo that kicks off on May 12 and open an exhibition hall spanning some 1,398 square meters.

The automaker has been promoting the expo through television commercials aired at home and abroad since December.

More than 90 percent of the construction has been completed for the expo’s major exhibition halls as well as nearby roads, the KTX railway and the highway.

Chung, honorary chief of the Yeosu Expo organizing committee, inspected the construction site of exhibition halls after being briefed on the overall preparations Thursday.

“I am certain the Yeosu Expo will be the best marine expo that makes history,” Chung told members of the organizing committee.

“Hyundai Motor Group will not spare support for the successful hosting of the expo.”

Chung visited 11 member states of the Bureau of International Expositions in 2007 to promote Yeosu to officials before the final votes on the host country of the 2012 Expo.

The Yeosu Expo, themed “Living Ocean and Coast,” will be the second world expo to be held in Korea after the Daejeon Expo in 1993.

In addition to 106 countries and nine international organizations participating in the expo, about 8 million spectators from around the globe are expected.

CNNgo, a travel information website run by CNN, named Yeosu first among the seven top places to visit in 2012. Travel guide Lonely Planet also picked checking out Korea’s Expo as one of the 10 top things to do this year.

By Kim So-hyun
(sophie@heraldcorp.com)