S-N tensions wont affect PyongChangs bid

By Yoon Chul

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province — Tensions on the Korean Peninsula will be unlikely to affect PyeongChang’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Games, a presenter for the city’s Winter Olympics bid said Friday.

“We have been separated for the last 60 years. But we have hosted many international events successfully, without any problems,” Park Won-ho, a political science professor at Seoul National University, said.

Park was giving a presentation on the political and economic climate to the evaluators from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“There have been ups and downs in the relationship with North Korea. I think we can hopefully get opportunities for amicable dialogue through the Winter Olympics and it will bring beneficial side effects,” added Park.

The IOC delegation, led by EvaluationCommission Chair and former IOC Vice President Gunilla Lindberg of Sweden, was in its third day of inspections of the candidate city.

Inter-Korean relations have soured since North Korea torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan, leaving 46 of the sailors onboard dead last March, and then launched an artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing four people — including two civilians — last November.

Earlier this month, the first defense talks between the two Koreas in nearly half a year broke down, after the North refused to apologize and admit its responsibility for these deadly provocations.

But Park said the political situation in South Korea otherwise is “stable and appropriate” to host the Winter Olympics. “We’re trying to highlight the new possibilities of winter sports,” he said. “And I think the IOC will take great interest in that.”

This is PyeongChang’s third straight attempt to host the Winter Games. In two previous bids, PyeongChang tried to persuade IOC officials that the Winter Games in South Korea would help bring peace to the peninsula. PyeongChang is located about 180 kilometers east of Seoul in Gangwon Province, which borders North Korean territory.

The IOC delegates visited facilities in Gangneung City about 20 minute east of the bid city, Friday.

The 14-member team checked out sites for ice hockey, curling, figure skating and speed skating.

PyeongChang has placed its facilities in two major clusters. If the Winter Olympics are held here, the Alpensia Cluster, built around the Alpensia Resort, would host snow events such as alpine skiing and ski jumping and also the sliding sports of luge, bobsleigh and skeleton. The Coastal Cluster, in the eastern area of PyeongChang, would be home to ice events, including hockey, speed skating and figure skating. Gangneung is part of the Coastal Cluster.

PyeongChang claims to be ready to run “one of the most compact” Olympics in history, with all venues within 30 minutes of each other. It has also built its case on bringing the Winter Games to Asia and helping promote winter sports across the continent. Since the Winter Olympics started in 1924 in Chamonix, France, the event has come to Asia only twice, and both times to Japan — Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.

The IOC delegation is scheduled to give a closing press conference Saturday. Until then, the officials will not speak to media and all indoor and outdoor presentations will be closed to the press.

The IOC’s evaluation reports will be made public no later than one month before the Durban meeting on July 6. While positive evaluation reports don’t always ensure victory for candidates, they are used as a reference for technical aspects of bids.

The bid committee will give presentations on about four more themes Saturday and the commission will present the result of its evaluation.

The bid committee will underline PyeongChang’s bid for the Winter Games during the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) Congress in Seoul from March 22 to 27.

The committee will also make similar moves during the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) Congress slated from March 30 to April 3 in New Caledonia and the Sportaccord Convention to be held from April 3 to 8 in London.

For the upcoming promotional events, Korean world figure skating star Kim Yu-na is expected to support PyeongChang’s bid as a special ambassador.