Who will lead PyeongChang?

Head of Olympic organizing committee to be named next week


President Lee Myung-bak has appointed many officials since taking office in 2008 but many of them have not kept their job for long.

But this time, Lee is expected to name a new chief who will take charge of PyeongChang’s Olympic preparations for the next seven years.

The 2018 Winter Olympics will be held in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. PyeongChang won the right to host the 2018 Games at an International Olympic Committee session in Durban, South Africa, in July.

The preparations are already under way. Seven among the 13 required competition venues have been completed, and six additional venues are to be built.

In order to speed up the process, the current PyeongChang bid committee will be disbanded on Oct. 6, being reshaped as the local organizing committee. But still the big question is who will take the lead?

President Lee and his advisors are now in discussion about who might be the best fit for the position, according to an official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

“Lee is still examining several options, but it won’t take long,” she told The Korea Herald.

It is believed that the first name on Lee’s list is Cho Yang-ho, chairman of PyeongChang 2018 bid committee. 

Cho, 62, who is also chairman of Hanjin Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Korea, was a key member of the team that saw through PyeongChang’s successful bid.

Since he first took the helm of PyeongChang bid committee in late 2009, Cho has devoted himself to the committee’s 12-year campaign to host Korea’s first-ever Winter Games.

Over the past 12 months, he has traveled abroad 34 times to meet international sporting officials and promote PyeongChang’s bid. He also brought his team from Hanjin affiliate Korean Air and provided 3 billion won to help promote PyeongChang’s campaign.

There is another strong candidate for the job; Kim Jin-sun, the special ambassador for the bidding committee.

When the International Olympic Committee announced PyeongChang as the host city for the 2018 Games in Durban, the 65-year-old was pictured covering his mouth and weeping.

The three-time Gangwon Province governor first got involved in PyeongChang’s campaign in 1999 while making a bid for the 2010 Games. And despite losing in the first bid, and suffering another defeat for the 2014 Games, Kim decided on making PyeongChang’s third bid. With his relentless effort, Kim has helped PyeongChang receive full support from the government and the locals as well as the members of the IOC.

Park Yong-sung, the president of Korean Olympic Committee, is another possible candidate. Park, who served six years at the IOC until 2007, has also been involved in PyeongChang’s bid over the past decade. The 71-year-old, who is chairman of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., also headed the International Judo Federation in 1995, and recently, he was elected as a vice chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia.

But the official said that there are several others on Lee’s list. She declined to reveal the names, but added: “I believe he’ll make the decision no later than next week.”

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)