IOC President Bach to visit S. Korea

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, will visit South Korea this week to meet with sponsors of the upcoming Winter Olympics to be held here, officials said Tuesday.

The organizing committee of the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang said Bach will arrive in South Korea on Wednesday for a two-day visit. He will attend a luncheon hosted by Cho Yang-ho, head of the organizing committee, with representatives from the corporate sponsors of the 2018 Olympics also on hand.

Bach will then pay a courtesy visit to President Park Geun-hye, where the two are expected to share opinions on the governmental support to ensure a successful Winter Games in 2018.

On Thursday, Bach will depart for Beijing, where he will attend the 2015 World Championships in Athletics set to kick off Saturday.

PyeongChang officials said Bach will be accompanied by Gunilla Lindberg, head of the IOC's Coordination Commission on PyeongChang; Christophe Dube, the IOC's executive director; and Christophe De Kepper, director general of the Olympic body. (Yonhap)