North Jeolla hopes Seoul can revitalize its bid to host the 2036 Olympics, but past and future liabilities loom 작성일 08-14 35 목록 <strong class="media_end_summary">The province is hoping the capital can play a secondary role, as it has become abundantly clear that the southern region lacks adequate facilities.</strong><div class="image"><br> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/08/14/0000092742_001_20260814080307893.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">North Jeolla Gov. Lee Won-taek speaks during his first press conference since taking office at the provincial government office on July 13. YONHAP</em></span><br></div><br><br>JEONJU, North Jeolla — North Jeolla, which is seeking to host the 2036 Summer Olympics in Jeonju, is stepping up efforts to secure cooperation from the Seoul Metropolitan Government after the central government signaled that Jeonju's preparations alone would not be enough to win the Games.<br><br>Since North Jeolla Gov. Lee Won-taek took office in July, the province has backed away from the previous administration’s push to host the Games independently and shifted toward pursuing a joint bid with Seoul. The strategy is to use Seoul’s sports venues and large-scale infrastructure to make up for North Jeolla’s shortage of facilities and accommodations and strengthen its competitiveness in the Olympic bidding process.<br><br>Gov. Lee met with Second Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Dae-hyun last month and was told that Jeonju’s current preparations alone would make it difficult to host the Olympics, the North Jeolla provincial government said Aug. 9.<br><br>Second Vice Minister Kim also told Gov. Lee that “a Seoul-Jeonju or Jeonju-Seoul Olympics could be worth pursuing.”<br><br>Even before winning the June 3 local election, Lee had advocated co-hosting the Games with Seoul, which has the legacy and infrastructure of the 1988 Summer Olympics. His position was that North Jeolla’s existing sports venues, accommodations and transportation infrastructure alone would not be sufficient to host the Olympics.<br><br>Lee also recently met with Kim Kyoung-ja, the presidential secretary for social affairs who is from Imsil County in North Jeolla, and asked for help in persuading the Seoul Metropolitan Government.<br><br>The governor is now seeking a meeting with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon through multiple channels to formally propose cooperation in hosting the sports festival.<br><br>Officials in and around the North Jeolla provincial government say a meeting between Gov. Lee and Mayor Oh could take place in August or September, but both sides have to navigate variables, from the province's tainted reputation after the World Scout Jamboree fiasco in 2023 to Oh's recent legal troubles that may force him out of office.<br><br><div class="image"><br> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/08/14/0000092742_003_20260814080308711.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon meets with representatives of local merchants’ associations in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, on July 31. NEWS1</em></span><br></div><br><h3>Talks with Seoul take shape</h3><br><br>North Jeolla has begun working-level discussions with Seoul to advance its bid to host the international sporting event.<br><br>To win approval from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for its Olympic bid plan, the province must submit an agreement on the use of Seoul sports venues by the end of September.<br><br>The ministry plans to make a final decision around Oct. 4 after reviewing factors including whether projected costs are realistic, the size of the financial burden on regional governments, transportation plans for a geographically dispersed Games and whether the necessary infrastructure can be completed on schedule.<br><br>North Jeolla obtained permission from Seoul in November last year to use its facilities and subsequently drew up a plan under which 11 of the Olympics’ 33 sports would be held in Jeonju and eight in nine venues in Seoul, including the Jamsil Sports Complex in southern Seoul for athletics and the Jangchung Arena in central Seoul for volleyball.<br><br>The plan calls for a total of 51 venues — 32 in North Jeolla and 19 elsewhere — with the remaining sports distributed among cities and regions including Daegu, Gwangju, South Jeolla and Cheongju.<br><br>North Jeolla and Seoul are now coordinating an agreement that would broadly cover the use of sports venues and cooperation between the two municipal governments if the Olympic bid succeeds.<br><br>Some have raised concerns that North Jeolla could end up playing a secondary role in the Games.<br><br>“The North Jeolla-centered hosting plan submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has not changed,” the provincial government said.<br><br>“The plan already includes the use of some venues in Seoul, with North Jeolla currently expected to take about 70 percent of the role and Seoul about 30 percent,” it said. “We are considering a strong partnership with Seoul, but cooperation that goes a step further to the level of ‘co-hosting’ is a matter for Gov. Lee and Mayor Oh to discuss politically.”<br><br><div class="image"><br> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/08/14/0000092742_002_20260814080308256.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Participants of the 25th World Scout Jamboree held in Saemangeum in Buan County, North Jeolla, leave the jamboree site early on Aug. 8, 2023. NEWS1</em></span><br></div><br><h3>Questions linger over feasibility and credibility</h3><br><br>North Jeolla still faces a number of challenges.<br><br>The provincial government’s administrative credibility took a hit with the troubled 25th<sup> </sup>World Scout Jamboree held at Saemangeum — a tidal flatland in Buan County — three years ago. The debacle ended with a complete retreat from the venue for over 37,000 attendees.<br><br>In March, it also revised the cost-benefit ratio for the Jeonju Olympic bid from 1.03 to 0.91 after errors were found in an economic feasibility analysis conducted by the Korea Institute of Sport Science.<br><br>The revision, which brought the ratio below the break-even threshold of 1, sparked controversy over whether the economic benefits of hosting the Olympics had been overstated.<br><br>Questions have also been raised over widely varying estimates of the total cost of hosting the Games.<br><br>“The total cost of the Olympics has been presented differently across documents at 5.33 trillion won [$3.77 billion], 6.91 trillion won and 9.18 trillion won, while there has also been confusion over the economic feasibility analysis,” Kim Seong-su, a North Jeolla provincial council member, said during a five-minute address at a plenary session on July 16.<br><br>“The bid plan should be reviewed from scratch and a system should be established to share information with the provincial council.”<br><br><div class="image"><br> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/08/14/0000092742_004_20260814080309319.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">President Lee Jae Myung, right, speaks with International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Dec. 3, 2025. BLUE HOUSE</em></span><br></div><br><h3>Rising political risk</h3><br><br>Some in political circles have also raised concerns that Seoul Mayor Oh’s legal troubles could complicate negotiations with the city government.<br><br>Oh was convicted over the payment of polling expenses by a third party and handed a 10 million won fine on July 22, a sentence that would cost him his position if upheld.<br><br>Under expedited trial provisions for the special counsel investigating the case, if the Supreme Court upholds the ruling in January of next year, a by-election would be held on April 7, 2027.<br><br>“Working-level discussions with the Seoul Metropolitan Government are proceeding smoothly,” Kim Jong-pil, head of North Jeolla’s 2036 Summer Olympics bid team, said. “Cooperation with Seoul is unavoidable to some extent because accommodations and large-scale infrastructure cannot be built overnight.”<br><br>“We also understand that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism believes Korea could become more competitive in the bidding process if Seoul participates.”<br><br>North Jeolla, meanwhile, plans to hold a video conference on Aug. 20 with the Sports Ministry, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Future Host Commission to share its plans for competition venues, the athletes’ village, transportation and promotion.<br><br>The province expects the IOC to select cities for strategic dialogue around March of next year and is focusing on further developing its hosting plan.<br><br>The IOC selects potential Olympic hosts through three stages of informal discussions with interested cities — continuous dialogue, strategic dialogue and targeted dialogue.<br><br> 관련자료 이전 프로당구 신생팀 브레이커스, 디펜딩 챔피언 하나카드 제압 이변 08-14 다음 재밌게 달리고 경품도 받자…뉴시스 바다마라톤 영종도서 10월24일 개최 08-14 댓글 0 등록된 댓글이 없습니다. 로그인한 회원만 댓글 등록이 가능합니다.
