President Yoon Suk Yeol (second from right) on Oct. 17 hosts a dinner for International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach (second from left) and other leading global sports figures at the presidential office in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District.
By Kang Gahui
Photos = Office of the 20th President
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 17 hosted a dinner for International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and other leading officials in global sports at the presidential office in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District.
Robin Mitchell, acting president of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), ANOC Vice President Yu Zaiqing, IOC Ethics Commission Chair Ban Ki-moon, and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo Gyoon attended the event. President Bach and ANOC officials arrived in Korea to attend the 26th ANOC General Assembly from Oct. 18-21 in Seoul.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Lee Jae-myoung in a written briefing quoted President Yoon as saying at the dinner, "We ask for the special interest and cooperation of the IOC and ANOC for a successful hosting of the fourth Winter Youth Olympic Games that open in January 2024 in Pyeongchang-gun County and Gangneung in Gangwon-do Province to offer a special opportunity to youth worldwide to experience the value of the Olympics."
"Because the IOC is an international organization that stresses humanity's joint response to climate change, please arrange to have youths around the world experience and practice the importance of carbon neutrality at the Winter Youth Olympic Games."
The IOC chief said, "We hope that the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games become an event that practices carbon neutrality," adding, "We plan to provide advance education on carbon neutrality to participating athletes and run programs to improve awareness."
President Yoon Suk Yeol (right) on Oct. 17 shakes hands with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at the presidential office in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District before the dinner.
Seoul National University on Oct. 18 said it will confer an honorary doctorate in sports management to President Bach for his contributions to making the world a more peaceful and better place via sports.
A former Olympic gold medalist in fencing and a lawyer, President Bach has led the IOC since 2013. He led efforts to maintain the United Nations-designated Olympic Truce on the divided Korean Peninsula during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and played a decisive role in both Koreas fielding a unified women's ice hockey team for the competition.
kgh89@korea.kr
