As a member of South Korea's bid committee put it, it was like a sharp-edged dagger plunged into the back. IOC president Jacques Rogge's announcement of Sochi as the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics was upsetting for Korean officials on site as well as aspiring Koreans, who were full of expectation for a successful bid. Their disappointment was considerable given the defeat mirrored narrow loss to Vancouver in PyeonChang's bid for the 2010 Winter Games. It should be mentioned that everyone involved paid their dues and should be congratulated for their sincerest efforts. Look not on this occasion as one of defeat, but to plow ahead toward future opportunity.
Foreign wires attribute Russia's comeback victory to Vladimir Putin's convincing political display. ``The Russian President _ who was named `captain' of the team _ had led the presentation and stunned observers as he spoke for the first time live in English,'' said AFP. It added Putin's efforts seemed to replicate those of then British Prime Minister Tony Blair when he lobbied so effectively for London's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Putin vigorously appealed for support for the Black Sea resort of Sochi with the presentation in English backed by Gazprom, the state-run energy company. The importance of the presentation could not be overemphasized, as it would sway the minds of undecided IOC members, which accounted for some 20 percent of the total. In this context, the Putin factor has given Russia a triumphant win. Putin prided himself in enabling Sochi to garner the right to host the Olympic games as part of efforts to reconstruct the past glory of Russia and pave the way for his political ambition. Russia has been outmaneuvering their Korean counterparts in terms of money spending and sports diplomacy, appeasing IOC members and making the most of Putin's formidable political clout and Gazprom's financial assistance.
In contrast, President Roh Moo-hyun delivered the presentation in Korean, thus failing to impress the IOC members. His brisk contact with IOC members and greetings in humble manners deserve appraisal. But Roh might have been able to heighten Korea's chances if he had conveyed his message before the IOC members in English. Cheong Wa Dae has failed to deploy its own diplomacy effectively for the bid while heavily relying on two IOC members _ Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee and Doosan Heavy Industries chairman Park Yong-sung.
Roh and Cheong Wa Dae have been assailed due to alleged lack of recognition about the importance of diplomacy. Former President Kim Dae-jung has emphasized diplomacy as the first and primary task as the nation is on a peninsula surrounded by four power nations _ the United States, China, Japan and Russia. But Cheong Wa Dae has backtracked in related policies, doing away with the post of foreign affairs aide to the President, for instance. To cope with the increasingly harsh and grim international reality, state diplomacy and foreign affairs-related policies should be strengthened as the recent case of PyeongChang clearly proves.