Pyeongchang Preparing for Yet Another Olympic Bid

On September 3, Gangwon Provincial Governor Kim Jin-seon announced, “We will launch an initiative to host the 2018 Winter Olympics Games in Pyeongchang.”

Governor Kim held a press conference at the Provincial Office on that day to ascertain that “Holding a Winter Olympics in Gangwon Province is a desire not only of our provincial residents, but also of Koreans as a whole,” and added, “This could be a springboard to boost the development of the area, and it is also an opportunity that could enhance the qualitative aspects of our province, which is why the Province of Gangwon is up for another try.”

Governor Kim explained that he collected the opinions of residents during the two months after the unfortunate announcement of the 2014 Winter Olympics host city, and has been analyzing the causes of the initial failure while reviewing the prospects of the odds for 2018, and has thus been able to reconcile the decision for another bid.

He added that, “It is anticipated that a better environment is likely to develop for 2018 in terms of international power structures and competitiveness regarding the Olympic hosting industry,” and that, “We have considered the importance of the preoccupying effect in international competition and also the necessity to solidify Korean sports organizations’ abilities in that regard as soon as possible.”

Concerning the opposing and circumspect opinions regarding this initiative, he explained, “In consideration of such opinions, we will devise an effective strategy and push forward with national support by completing the necessary procedures, such as working in close coordination with the Korean Olympic Committee and the government.” Meanwhile, the Korean Democratic Labor Party’s Gangwon Office and the Gangwon Solidarity Advisory Civic Society Group opposed the initiative by releasing the following statement, “Withdraw the hasty ‘Third Trial Initiative’ that disregards evaluation and verification procedures.”

cschoi@donga.com