World VIPs attending the 2002 World Cup include 11 national leaders, six members of royal families, 30 ministers of sports or foreign affairs, celebrities from international sports and 50 global business CEOs and world economic organizations leaders, Cheong Wa Dae announced Tuesday.

It said participants in the opening ceremony in Sangam Stadium Seoul on May 31 will include Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, East Timor President Jose Alexandre 'Xanana' Gusmao, Palau President Tommy Remengesau Jr., Dominican Republic Prime Minister Pierre Charles, St Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, Namibia Prime Minister Gotfried Geingob, and former president of Costa Rica Miguel Rodriguez.

Also honorary chairman of the Japanese Football Association Prince Takamado Nomiya and royal family members from Saudi Arabia, Brunei, UAE, Denmark, and Oman, will attend along with East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel prize winner; former US ambassadors to Seoul, James Laney and Donald Gregg, and Professor R. Salje of Cambridge University.

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski is also visiting Busan where the Polish team play their opening match against Korea on June 4 to watch the game with President Kim Dae-jung after summit talks. German President Johannes Rou, Belize Prime Minister Said Musa and former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban have also confirmed World Cup visits.

Cheong Wa Dae has also invited 50 CEOs from leading multinationals aimed at expanding foreign direct investment and promoting Seoul as the base for their Asian headquarters. Those attending include new BMW chairman Dr Helmut Panke, Softbank Chairman Masayoshi Son, Matzushita Board Vice-Chairman Masayuki Matsushita, Allianz Board Chairman Henning Schulte-Noelle, and are invited to tea with President Kim Da-jung in Cheong Wa Dae. (Kim Min-bai, baibai@chosun.com )