YONHAP NEWS

(LEAD) PyeongChang's Olympic bidding committee starts overseas campaign in Vancouver

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's bidding committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics sent a group of officials to Vancouver Tuesday as part of an overseas campaign to bring the Games to the city of PyeongChang, the committee said.

   PyeongChang, an alpine resort county about 180 kilometers east of Seoul, has renewed its Olympic attempt against Germany's Munich and France's Annecy for the 2018 Olympics, after losing twice to Canada's Vancouver and Russia's Sochi before.

   "The delegation led by co-Chairmen Cho Yang-ho and Kim Jin-sun will go to Vancouver and promote PyeongChang to players and officials from all around world including members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)," the bidding committee said in a statement.

   The committee will participate in a press conference arranged by the IOC on Monday next week and emphasize PyeongChang's strong points including a concentration of stadiums and sports facilities in a 30-minute driving radius, experience accumulated through two previous bid failures and unified national support.

   It also noted that "Korean House," a promotion booth for the South Korean city, will open in Vancouver on Saturday and handle the campaign during the Olympics that runs from Feb. 12 to 28.

   South Korean Culture Minister Yu In-chon, President of Korean Olympic Committee Park Yong-sung, and IOC members Lee Kun-hee and Moon Dae-sung will also attend Monday's press conference, it added. Lee, former Samsung Group chairman, was reinstated as an IOC member on Sunday, after the South Korean government gave him pardon for tax evasion and illegal bond transactions late last year.

   The IOC is planning to select the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics at its general meeting in 2011 in Durban, South Africa.

   brk@yna.co.kr
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