IOC leaders praise PyeongChang's progress

Gunilla Lindberg, center, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board and chairwoman of the PyeongChang Coordination Commission, listens during a news conference in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, joined by IOC executive director Gilbert Felli, left, and Kim Jin-sun, head of the organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. The IOC members were at PyeongChang for a meeting of the Olympic body’s coordination commission, evaluating the preparation for the 2018 Games. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

PYEONGCHANG – The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Coordination Commission for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games on Wednesday praised the organizing committee’s progress and preparation efforts after completing a second two-day inspection.

“We’ve once again seen good progress from PyeongChang 2018 and excellent team effort from the organizing committee, at all levels of governments and the Korean Olympic Committee,” IOC Executive Board Member Gunilla Lindberg said at a press conference.

“Delivering an Olympic Games can only be achieved successfully by working as a single unit and our Korean colleagues have shown that unity once again on this visit.”

Lindberg said she was impressed by the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee’s (POCOG) cohesive teamwork for the common objective: making the event the most successful ever.

She particularly mentioned the launch of the Games’ new emblem that “captures the culture of Korea” and the progress on construction that has been under way.

“During the visit, there have been many discussions regarding all aspects of preparation,” Organizing Committee President Kim Jin-sun said. “Bolstered by strong supports from the central government, Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) and local government, we have been able to lay a solid foundation for more progress to be made.”

Construction of accommodation and transportation to the event venues will begin in earnest this year because the plans for detailed work were already made, Kim said.

“We have received a great deal of support from Chair Lindberg, Gilbert Felli and experts from the International Federations. I would like to say that we are fortunate to work with well-experienced members of the Commission,” Kim said.

“Given that the test event will start in three and a half years, it actually is not five years away. We will try to continue to work making the Games a great success in PyeongChang.” Kim said.

KOC President Kim Jung Haeng promised the full support for the athletes who will compete for the PyeongChang Games, saying that Team Korea’s goal is to win 20 medals to be within the top 4 winning nations there.

The inspection was conducted over a number of areas including workforce, sport, venues, marketing, communications, education and technology. It was an opportunity to POCOG not just to present their achievements, but also to gain guidance from the members of the Commission, which includes representatives of the athletes, International Federations, National Olympic Committees, IOC members and the International Paralympic Committee.

Representatives of the organizing committee, the Korean Olympic Committee, and the local government also attended the meeting.

The Commission visits the host city once a year until four years from the Games; then, they visit the venue twice a year until the start of the event.

The first meeting was held from March 20 to 22 in 2012.