PyeongChang Unable to Get European Votes

By Kim Tong-hyung

Korea Times Correspondent

GUATEMALA CITY __ In the late hours of Tuesday (Wednesday Korean time), a day before the decisive Olympic vote to settle the winter games campaign, South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun crossed paths with Austrian IOC member Leo Wallner at the corridors of the Real InterContinental Hotel.

Roh, looking a bit consumed after a grueling schedule had him meet more than 50 IOC members that day, embraced Wallner and said ``Let us both have good dreams tonight.''

Judging by how things turned out the next day, with PyeongChang and Salzburg ending up losing back-to-back on Olympic bids, both men would have wanted nothing more than to get back to bed.

The loss stings harder for the Koreans, who actually gathered more votes than eventual-winners Sochi in the first round of the IOC vote, before losing 51-47 to the Russians in the final ballot. Salzburg, as it did four years ago, was eliminated in the first round.

``We did all we could, but it just didn't happen for us. Most of the IOC members reacted positively to Sochi's presentations ahead of the vote, so I feared at the time that it may take away some of our momentum,'' Korean Olympics Committee (KOC) President Kim Jung-kil told The Korea Times.

``South Korea had the strong support from IOC members from African and American nations in the past, but I think a lot of those votes were swayed to the Russians this time around,'' he said.

Lobbying power and an effective media presentation almost allowed PyeongChang to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history four years ago when it fell just three votes shy of Vancouver in the 2010 winter games campaign.

The Koreans had a similar game plan for Wednesday, but their images and words failed to carry them one spot further than in 2003.

The presentations are considered decisive in the outcome of an Olympic bid vote, especially since IOC members were banned from visiting candidate sites since the Salt Lake City bribery scandal.

Thus the video images are the closest most voters could get to the sports venues, which would be crucial for lesser-known destinations such as PyeongChang.

Each candidate city held a 1-hour multimedia presentation before the vote with Sochi going first and then Salzburg and PyeongChang. Although the Koreans seemed pleased with their performance __ which Roh and Samsung President Lee Kun-hee were cast in supporting roles __ the consensus among the foreign press was starkly different.