Olympic team holds inaugural rally; Main group to depart Friday

The Korean Olympic team, which pledged to enter the top 10 for the 5th consecutive time, held an inaugural rally at the Sejong Cultural Center today, attended by 284 athletes participating in 24 events and 114 officials, a total of 398.

Attending the rally were Prime Minister Lee Han-Dong, Minister of Culture and Tourism Park Jie-Won, Korean Olympic Committee Chairman Kim Un-Yong, the National Assembly's Culture-Tourism Committee head Choi Jae-Seung, Korean National Red Cross head Chang Choong-Sik, the Olympic team leader and other prominent figures in the athletic arena.

Chairman Kim Un-Yong remarked that the Olympics are a war without guns and that the national team members were in the frontline. He appealed to the athletes that they deeply instill in themselves a sense of duty to the citizens and to uphold national prestige.

Prime Minister Lee Han-Dong asserted that the joint South-North declaration will open a new chapter in history and the Sydney Olympics are an especially meaningful event. He asked the athletes to show the world that the South and North are on the way to reconciliation and to compete in good faith.

Leader of the Olympic team, Lee Sang-Chul, pledged to give his best and abide by competition rules and to display a spirit of fair play in order to show the poise as a former host nation of the 1988 Olympics.

The team¡¯s main group of 216 people will depart on Friday and will hold an entrance ceremony on September 10 at 12:00 pm at the athletes¡¯ village. They will start adjustment training at once and the rest of the athletes will join with the main group by September 13 at the latest.

After participating in the opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium on September 15, the medal race will start on September 16 with shooting and Judo.