South Korea wants to hold the best youth Olympics in history

The newly appointed president of the Organizing Committee of the upcoming Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, Choi Jong-gu, said today that South Korea wants to hold the best such event in history.

Using my work experience over the years, I will try to make Gangwon 2024 the most successful Youth Olympic Games to date, the official said at the capital’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

A former chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Choi added that he hoped to further elevate the committee’s effectiveness and create additional opportunities, not only financially but also in marketing, promotion and planning.

This will be an important opportunity that will showcase South Korea to the rest of the world and help unite our people and young athletes from around the world, he said.

Until now, the Organizing Committee operated under the co-chairmanship of Olympic champions Lee Sang-hwa and Jin Jong-oh, who will continue to support the promotional side of Gangwon 2024 and actively communicate with young athletes.

As reported on Monday, a new seven-member Advisory Group will also join the body to support Gangwon 2024 on a daily basis.

They include Yeo Hyung-koo, former secretary general of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, and Kim Jae-youl, president of the International Skating Union.

The winter event will be held between January 19 and February 1, 2024, and will take advantage of some of the same facilities used in PyeongChang 2018.

Some 1,900 athletes from around 81 countries are expected to participate, a figure similar to those registered at the last event of this nature, held in January 2020 in Lausanne, Switzerland.