Lee Says Korea Wants to Host 2022 World Cup
By Na Jeong-ju
Korea Times Correspondent
Zurich ― President Lee Myung-bak met Wednesday with FIFA President Sepp Blatter at the headquarters of the global football governing body in Switzerland.
During the meeting, President Lee explained how well prepared Korea is to host the 2022 World Cup and what the country can contribute to the development of football, the spokesman said.
Rep. Chung Mong-joon, chairman of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) who arrived here Tuesday, also attended the meeting in his capacity as the vice president and executive committee member of the world's football governing body.
Chung, who served as president of the Korea Football Association from 1993 to 2009, led Korea's bid to host the 2002 World Cup. After Korea and Japan were named as co-hosts of the event, he worked as co-chairman of Korea's World Cup organizing committee.
Bidding for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments is currently under way. FIFA will announce the two successful candidates in December.
President Lee will deliver a special address on global financial instability and climate change today at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
As the host of the G-20 summit in November, Lee will speak on the group's role in addressing those global issues, as well as his vision for "green growth," a presidential spokesman said.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will also deliver special addresses, according to organizers.
Lee will also participate in a plenary session on effective global governance, an issue under the theme of the forum, "Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild."
Lee arrived in Zurich after a four-day trip to India during which he held a summit with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
On the sidelines of the Davos forum, he will hold a series of meetings with participating heads of state to discuss bilateral issues, the spokesman said.
They include Harper, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Jordan's King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He is also scheduled to meet with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Cisco Systems Chairman and CEO John Chambers, before returning home Saturday.