Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Head of PyeongChang Winter Games says efforts under way to cut costs
The chief organizer for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics said Monday that efforts are already under way to reduce the cost of running South Korea's first Winter Games.
At a press conference also marking his first anniversary as the head of the organizing committee, Cho Yang-ho said he hopes to learn from the recent Summer Universiade held in another South Korean city, Gwangju.
The multisport competition for student athletes received positive reviews from international officials for its frugal operations. Gwangju, a metropolitan city some 330 kilometers southwest of Seoul, only built four new stadiums and renovated or refurbished existing facilities for most of the events.
"We haven't yet established specific plans, but we'll be renting pieces of equipment that won't be of much use after the Olympics instead of buying them," Cho said. "Also, we have more flexibility under 'Olympic Agenda 2020' (a set of reform measures by the International Olympic Committee) and we'll be able to combine some venues to cut costs."
Looking back on the past year, Cho, also chairman of the conglomerate Hanjin Group, said he believes PyeongChang's preparations are on the right track "thanks to coordinated efforts by the organizing committee, the government and Gangwon Province," referring to the home province of the host city.
"We won't be wasting precious taxpayers' money or government budget," Cho added. "We've been trying to figure out how to run the most effective and economic Olympic Games, and some steps are already being taken." (Yonhap)