Do Not Forget Japan, the IOC, and the Olympic Spirit!

Seoul City Councilor Hong Seong-ryong: "All Means and Methods Must Be Mobilized, Including Olympic Boycott"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “The ideal of the modern Olympics lies in the perfection of humanity through sports and the promotion of ‘international peace’ through competition. Furthermore, the significance of the Olympic Games is not in winning but in participating, and what matters to humans is effort rather than success.” This is the modern Olympic creed advocated by Coubertin.

Regarding the Japanese Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee marking Dokdo as Japanese territory on the official website map and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) tacitly allowing this, Hong Seong-ryong, representative member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s research group ‘Dokdo Protection Forum’ (Democratic Party of Korea, Songpa 3), introduced the ideals and significance of the modern Olympics and sharply criticized, saying, “Japan and the IOC should reflect on what the Olympic spirit truly is.”

He continued, “Japan’s actions are not only acts of sovereignty infringement but also atrocities that completely undermine the Olympic spirit of achieving human prosperity and world peace. It is no different from declaring war on the global festival of all people.”

Representative Hong said, “In the August 2012 London Olympics men’s soccer match between Korea and Japan, one of our players was disciplined for running across the field holding a placard saying ‘Dokdo is our land.’ Also, during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, when Japan protested the inclusion of Dokdo on the Korean Peninsula flag, the IOC recommended removing the Dokdo marking, and our government accepted this from a magnanimous perspective to uphold the Olympic spirit.”

He added, “Japan and the IOC must clearly remember this point. We cannot help but be outraged by the hypocritical and shameless behavior of Japan and the IOC regarding Dokdo.”

He then emphasized, “The IOC must uphold the Olympic spirit. To prevent the Tokyo Olympics from becoming a stage for political disputes and being remembered as the worst Olympics in history, the IOC must take a clear and firm stance against Japan’s acts of Dokdo invasion.”

Finally, Representative Hong urged, “Our government should strongly respond by all means and methods, including boycotting the Olympics, until Japan deletes Dokdo marked as Japanese territory and issues an apology.”

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