Lee Ki-heung, President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, "Pursuing Joint South-North Hosting of the 2024 Gangwon Youth Olympics"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Lee Ki-heung, President of the Korea Sports Council and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced on the 20th that he is promoting the joint hosting of the 2024 Gangwon Province Winter Youth Olympic Games by South and North Korea.

On the same day, Lee held a closing press conference for the event at the main media center of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, stating, "Regarding the 2024 Gangwon Province Winter Youth Olympic Games, after government discussions, we have proposed to the North to co-host the event," and added, "Since the Masikryong Ski Resort in the North is well-equipped, we plan to promote overall joint hosting including Muju in South Korea."

The 2024 Gangwon Province Winter Youth Olympic Games are scheduled to open on January 19, 2024, and run until February 2 of the same year.

Lee explained, "The Winter Youth Olympic Games involve more than 80 countries and over 3,000 participants, making it a competition almost comparable in scale to the Olympics," and added, "The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly will be held in Seoul this October, where many IOC members will gather, so we will focus on discussing these issues at that time."

He continued, "Personally, since the North has facilities such as the Masikryong Ski Resort, we can hold about two events there and, including Muju, distribute the hosting on a large scale," emphasizing, "After returning to Korea, I will establish long-term strategies and plans to create an opportunity to promote change on the Korean Peninsula through the 2024 Olympics."

Meanwhile, the Korea Sports Council decided not to file a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the controversial refereeing in the short track events. Previously, in the men's 1000m short track semifinals, South Korea's Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Provincial Office) and Lee Jun-seo (Korea National Sport University) finished first and second in their heat but were disqualified due to penalties during the race.

Lee explained the reason for withdrawing the plan to file a complaint, saying, "After the controversy over biased refereeing arose, I met about five times with the president of the International Skating Union (ISU) and also spoke with IOC President Thomas Bach," and added, "We conveyed our position including domestic public opinion, and since that incident, the ISU has shown efforts in their own way."

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