Ex-minister named PyeongChang Olympics chief

Cho Yang-ho, head of the PyeongChang Olympics Organizing Committee / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Lee Hee-beom

Former Commerce Minister Lee Hee-beom was appointed new head of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) Tuesday evening, replacing former chief Cho Yang-ho, who abruptly resigned from the post earlier the same day.

“The vacant seat left by Cho will be filled by Lee,” said an official at POCOG. “Lee has a varied professional background, including serving as a commerce minister, a university president and CEO of a large company. With his successful background, we expect him to help POCOG, which is in the final phases of completing Olympic preparations.”

Lee served as head of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy from 2003 to 2006, and after leaving bureaucracy, he worked as the head of the Korea Productivity Center and chancellor of Seoul National University of Science and Technology. Most recently, he served as an advisor for LG International Corp.

Cho, who is chairman of Hanjin Group, announced his departure in a press statement released by POCOG, leaving its key leadership vacant with less than 22 months left to go before Korea’s first-ever Winter Games in the resort town of PyeongChang.

“As mentioned in the statement, Cho has resigned as the chief of POCOG,” a POCOG official said. “He will now concentrate on urgent management issues at his company.”

Asked about the possibility of his return, the official said “Nothing has been decided,” adding his replacement has also not been decided on yet.

The abrupt resignation comes as Hanjin Shipping, the country’s biggest container carrier and an affiliate of Hanjin Group, has faced a prolonged slump in its business.

Cho has been leading POCOG since July 31, 2014, filling a vacancy left by Kim Jin-sun, who himself had abruptly resigned ten days earlier. He took over the committee in August 2014.

Since taking the position, Cho has been credited with solving pending issues related to Olympic facility construction, potential relocation of the venues for the opening and closing ceremonies and a controversy over sharing the Games with Japan.

In his statement, Cho expressed his gratitude to every member of the POCOG.

“I would like to thank every member who trusted and followed me,” Cho said. “I request they concentrate on preparing for the PyeongChang Games under new leadership. I can proudly say that POCOG has become a strong team, and the challenges we have overcome allowed us to achieve success at our first official test events this past February.”

Under Cho's watch, the organizing committee hosted the International Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine Skiing World Cup in Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, drawing rave reviews from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIS officials.