South Korean businessman Cho Yang-ho, who led Pyeongchang`s successful bid for the Winter Olympics, has been named as the new president of the organising committee for the 2018 Games.
Seoul: South Korean businessman Cho Yang-ho, who led Pyeongchang`s successful bid for the Winter Olympics, has been named as the new president of the organising committee for the 2018 Games.
"I have decided to take up this position to keep the promise I made with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host a successful Olympic Games," Cho said in a statement.
Cho replaces Kim Jin-sun, who abruptly resigned as president of the committee (POCOG) last week in the middle of a review by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI).
An official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism denied the BAI review was the reason behind Kim`s departure, which followed that of the vice president and secretary general of the committee, Moon Dong-hoo, who quit earlier this month.
Cho had initially said he would not take up the role as he was too busy with his work running the Hanjin Group conglomerate, which includes Korean Air.
"Since it was a tough decision, I will best utilise my experience as the head of the bidding committee and devote myself to making the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics Games successful," Cho added.
The IOC welcomed Cho`s appointment and said the governing body was looking forward to working with him once more.
"The election of Cho Yang-ho as President of the Pyeongchang 2018 Organising Committee underlines the importance that the Republic of Korea and the Korean sports movement places upon the success of the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games," IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement.
"We are pleased that President Cho has been elected so quickly and that he will dedicate himself to this important national project.
"I welcome him back to the Pyeongchang team. I am sure that he will deliver great Olympic Winter Games for the athletes in 2018."
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.