Kim Jin-sun, Governor of Gangwon Province where PyeongChang is located, said this week that the province will adhere to all International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations and promote its image, which was recently marred by scandals in the Korean sports scene.
PyeongChang is bidding to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and was a close second in its bid for the 2010 Games, which was won by Vancouver.
According to the Korea Times Kim said, “still, the future is unpredictable. I realized during my stay in Turin that South Korea has lost some of the favourable impressions it had when we were on a 2010 Games campaign”. Kim has just returned from the Turin Games where he met about 70 IOC members to promote PyeongChang’s bid.
Kim was referring to a domestic battle between PyeongChang and Muju over who would represent South Korea in the 2014 bid and more recently Busan was involved in a dispute because of breaches of the IOC’s code of ethics in its failed bid to host the 2009 IOC meeting. The Korea Times reports that Busan officials reportedly met and lobbied several leading European sports officials in Europe.
Kim stressed that the remaining period in the PyeongChang bid will be conducted strictly within the IOC rules. He said, “we will be allowed to do our promotion during the General Assembly of the ANOC (Association of National Olympic Committees) which will take place later this month in Seoul. But our activity will stay within the range ethically permitted by the IOC and our priority will be to help host the event successfully”.
Kim said PyeongChang has advantages over most other competitors but it doesn’t mean the city can be complacent. “Besides Salzburg, competitors like Sochi and Jaca are surging with national level supports, but PyeongChang has better infrastructure, even than Turin in some instances. We’ve also been sincerely delivering the pledges we made, like the ‘Dream Program’. In Turin it was one of the activities we earned some credit and praise for among those I met, including IOC president Jacques Rogge.
PyeongChang is in third place in GamesBids.com newly released BidIndex, with Salzburg in first place.
