Presidential Support
for Winter Olympics

Pyeongchang 2014 Winter Olympic Bid Committee makes progress reports

The Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Bid Committee reported to President Roh Moo-hyun the progress of its activity to bring the global winter sports event to Pyeongchang in 2014 at the Guest Hall of Cheong Wa Dae on Oct. 18.
President Roh Moo-hyun proclaimed his commitment to the pan-government endeavor to host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang at a briefing meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae. The meeting presided over by the president himself was aimed at better preparing the country for a successful bid for the global winter sports festival.
The participants encompassed diverse stakeholders, which included the President, and his administration officials, representatives from the National Assembly and the sports community, Olympic medalists, young sports players and representatives of Pyeongchang. All parties pledged their active participation in the government-wide aggregate efforts to win host city status until the decision is made on July 4, next year by the International Olympic committee(SOC).
Han Seung-soo, chairman of the bid committee, said One of the strengths of the city is the strong support backed by the government coupled with the Korean people's enthusiasm to host the Olympic Games. He went on to add that building on the momentum generated from today's meeting, all parties including the government, National Assembly, Korean Olympic Committee and Bid committee as well as other related agencies and groups will join forces to do our best to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Gov. Kim Jin-sun of Gangwon Province, proclaimed, "With sports venues concentrated in Pyeongchang, Gangneung and Alpensia resort, an Olympic complex,"the Committee would clearly "Present a perfect plan to improve transportation accessibility to the city, including the construction of a railway connecting Gangneung, to Wonju,"another city in the province. He also declared that the Committee would "have finished basic drawings for key sports fields,"by the time of on-site inspections.
Pyeongchang already has many facilities to host the global sports event including ski slopes and lodging facilities, among others.
The finale of the meeting was the signing of the commitment plaque by President Roh and First Lady Gweon Yang-suk. The plaque included the inscription. "When we all joint forces, we will see our dream of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics come true."The plaque will be installed in Pyeongchang during the SOC Evaluation Commission visit next February in order to communicate the Korean government's strong determination to back the Olympic Games. Following the president and first lady's signing, a singing went was held for all walks of life representing various fields and the general population to sign on the two thousand and fourteen(2014) signing belts attached to the plaque.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of an Olympic stadium took place on the construction site for Alpenesia resort, Pyeongchang Oct. 27. The resort is designed to serve as the heart of all the facilities for the 2014 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games. The ceremony was attended by some 2,000 people led by Prime Minister Han Myung-sook, Minister of Culture and Tourism Kim Myung-gon, legislators on the Special Sup0porting Committee for the National Assembly, Bid Committee Chairman Han Seung-soo, Gov. Kim Jin-sun of Gangwon Province, leaders in tourism, economics and industry and local residents.
Approximately, 1,269.9 billion won is earmarked for the project on a 4.9 square km site. Alpenesia resort will include an innovative, multi-purpose sports resort comprising three areas of Winter Olympic sports facilities, a resort, and a golf village. If the city wins the host city status, the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in this area.
The winter sports area will be completed in October, 2007, and the resort area in August, 2008. Finally in September, 2009, a grand opening ceremony will be held to mark the completion of the large-scale construction of Alpenesia. The winter sports cluster will be the venue for the Biathlon World Cup in February, 2008 and the Biathlon World Championship in February, 2009. nw

President Roh Moo-hyun hands the Plaque of Commitment to Bid Committee Chairman Han Seung-soo at Cheong Wa Dae Oct. 18.