1. The Republic of Korea’s Ambassador to Denmark Choi Jai-chul was elected as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) for the third time at the 162nd session of the BIE General Assembly held in Paris, France, on November 15.

※ The Executive Committee, one of the four BIE committees, handles key matters related to the selection of hosts and the organization of international exhibitions. Its Chairperson can serve a maximum of three two-year terms at the post.

° Ambassador Choi served two consecutive terms -- a combined four years from November 2013 till November 2017 -- as Chairman of the BIE Executive Committee. In March and April 2017, the Ambassador, in his capacity as head BIE delegate, carried out Enquiry Missions at the candidate venues for Specialised Expo 2022/23, reporting the outcome of the Missions to the recent BIE General Assembly session.

* The candidate venues for Specialised Expo 2022/23 are Minnesota, the US; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Lodz, Poland.

2. Ambassador Choi’s third term will last under the BIE General Assembly session in November 2019. In the first half of the year 2018, he will lead BIE delegations on visits to candidate venues for World Expo 2025 on Enquiry Missions, and report their outcome at the BIE General Assembly session in June 2018.

* The candidate venues for World Expo 2025 are Osaka, Japan; Paris, France; Yekaterinburg, Russia; and Baku, Azerbaijan.

° The host of World Expo 2025 will selected by a vote by the BIE members during its General Assembly session in November 2018.

3. The BIE is an international organization founded pursuant to the 1928 Paris Convention to oversee matters concerning international exhibitions, including the selection of their hosts as well as the duties and rights of hosting and participating countries. It has 170 member states, including the ROK, with the US re-granted membership at the 162nd session of the BIE General Assembly.

° A BIE member since 1987, the ROK government successfully hosted the Daejeon Expo in 1993 and the Yeosu Expo in 2012. It is currently conducting a feasibility study on hosting World Expo 2030 in Busan.


* unofficial translation