Seoul yet to decide on joint Olympic bid with North Jeolla
Seoul City Hall / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
With North Jeolla Province pushing to co-host the 2036 Summer Olympics with Seoul, the capital city's government remains hesitant to respond to the proposal, following its own elimination from the domestic selection process.
North Jeolla Province officials said the provincial government submitted a joint hosting proposal to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and is currently awaiting a response.
Insiders, however, say it would be challenging for the two governments to iron out the details of the co-hosting arrangement as both would want to hold the major events, including the opening ceremony.
“They will find it hard to narrow their differences because both sides would want the key events ... Seoul had already lost the initial domestic bid to North Jeolla Province. While Seoul would readily host the event on its own, a joint bid is a completely different matter, as it involves significant taxpayer money,” a government official familiar with the matter told The Korea Times.
It has been reported that the metropolitan government told the province that under a joint bid, the capital would host major events, such as the opening and closing ceremonies. It is unknown whether North Jeolla Province accepted the proposal.
"We expect Seoul will agree [on the joint bid] for coexistence," North Jeolla Gov. Lee Won-taeg said in a briefing on Monday, adding that he expects the city to make a decision after the Chuseok holiday.
Lee, however, did not provide clear answers to questions on how the two sides will divide up hosting of key ceremonies and events.
As to reports that Seoul proposed to host the opening and closing ceremonies, a city official said that the topic has been discussed by the top leadership of both governments, but had no further information. He also said there has not been any working-level contact with provincial government officials.
"Some degree of mutual understanding must first be established at the top level. The two governments have not reached any consensus or alignment yet," the official said.
Even if both sides agree on a joint proposal, relevant procedures would require a new domestic selection process in which the co-hosting bid would have to compete with other host candidates.
Meanwhile, the provincial government also maintains that it plans to pursue a solo bid to host the event if co-hosting talks with Seoul collapse.