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Pyeongchang Winter Olympics chief quits

(Reuters) - Kim Jin-sun quit as head of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics organising committee on Monday, the second senior official to step down in recent weeks.

Kim, 67, who had been President of the committee (POCOG) since 2011, had his resignation accepted by the government despite his term running until October 2015.

"Pyeongchang 2018 is at a turning point for the latter half of its Games preparation, which requires more detailed planning and execution," Kim said in a statement.

"At this critical juncture, I believe that Pyeongchang 2018 needs new leadership and a stronger system that will effectively carry out various Games-related projects. And this is why I decided to resign as President of POCOG."

Kim's departure follows that of Moon Dong-hoo, the Vice President and Secretary General of the committee, who tendered his resignation in May citing health problems but only quit earlier this month.

The organisation is in the process of a review by the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), who refused to say what prompted the investigation in the first place.

"Yes, there is an audit going on but it's not a regular audit. It is a specific-subject audit. POCOG is not big enough for us to audit regularly, like we do the ministry of culture, sports and tourism annually," a BAI official told Reuters.

"The process is still ongoing. We just completed only the on-site part of the months-long audit. Thus we have no result yet."

An official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism denied that Kim's resignation was a result of the investigation and praised the outgoing president, who had been a special ambassador for Pyeongchang's successful bid after heading their two failed attempts in 2003 and 2007.

"He has made tremendous effort and substantial contribution to winning the bid and preparing for the Games," the official told Reuters.

"His resignation has nothing to do with the inspection from the BAI. Kim said since he has done building a foundation, such as stadiums, it makes more sense to bring in new talent to successfully host the 2018 Games. He felt that his role is done."

Local media said businessman Cho Yang-ho, head of the Korea Table Tennis Association, was the favourite to succeed Kim.

Cho, though, denied he would take up the role.

"Taking the position is a great honour for the country but I have a lot of work at hand that requires my full-time commitment," he said in a statement.

"Therefore I cannot take up the position as the head of POCOG. But I will do my best in order to make the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games successful."

Reuters

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KOC President Kim named interim chief of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics

In view of the recent resignation of President Kim Jin-sun of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) the organization has been functioning with an emergency task force co-headed by Vice Presidents Kwak Young-jin and Kim Sang-pyo.

POCOG has also confirmed that Kim Jung-Haeng, President of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), will step in as interim president of POCOG. Kim attended a briefing at the Seoul office on Thursday to get up to speed on the preparations in course and upcoming plans.

http://www.sportsfeatures.com/olympicsnews/story/51079/koc-president-kim-named-interim-chief-of-the-pyeongchang-2018-olympics

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Korean Air Chief in Line to Lead Pyeongchang Games

The South Korean businessman who led Pyeongchang's successful bid for the Winter Olympics is set to return as head of the organizing committee for the 2018 Games.

Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Korean conglomerate Hanjin Group, said in a statement released by the company that he has accepted the position made vacant by the surprise resignation last week of Kim Jin-sun.

The new chairman needs to be officially approved at a meeting of Pyeongchang's local organizing committee on Friday. Cho's election is considered a formality.

"Now that I've agreed to take on the job as the chief organizer, I will dedicate myself to ensure a successful Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, relying on my experience as the top bid official," the 65-year-old Cho was quoted as saying by Korean media.

"Many people in and outside Korea recommended that I take this position and I also wanted to keep the promise I'd made with the International Olympic Committee to work for a successful Olympics here."

Cho, who heads Korean Air, was head of the bid committee when Pyeongchang was awarded the games by the IOC in 2011. He is a vice president of the Korean Olympic Committee and has been president of the Korea Table Tennis Association since 2008 and vice president of the Asian Table Tennis Union since 2009.

Kim cited a need for new leadership when he unexpectedly resigned on July 21. Kim Jung-haeng is serving as interim chief organizer until the new president is formally elected.

Kim's departure came amid an audit into the organizing committee and concerns about the pace of construction and signing up of domestic sponsors.

The Seoul-based Board of Audit and Inspection confirmed last week it has been investigating financing and management of the organizing committee.

The results of the investigation, which began in late May and ended on July 11, are expected in three months.

The IOC said last week it has "full confidence" in the organizing committee.

AP

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/korean-air-chief-line-lead-pyeongchang-games-24737229

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IOC statement on the election of POCOG President Yang-ho Cho

31/07/2014

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is pleased that Yang-ho Cho has been formally elected as the President of the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee (POCOG). We also welcome his plans to dedicate himself to the success of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. President Cho has a long-standing relationship with the Olympic Movement, and his experience of leading the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee will allow him to quickly get started in his new role.

The IOC is looking forward to working again with President Cho, with the first face-to-face meeting already scheduled to take place during the upcoming Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. President Cho and a POCOG delegation are expected to meet with IOC President Thomas Bach, IOC Coordination Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg, and the IOC’s Olympic Games Deputy Executive Director Christophe Dubi during the course of the 13-day event.

IOC President Thomas Bach commented: “The election of Yang-ho Cho 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. 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.”

IOC Coordination Commission Chair Gunilla Lindberg said: “I am pleased to welcome Yang-ho Cho as President of the PyeongChang 2018 Organising Committee. We already have a very good relationship from President Cho’s work with the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee. I look forward to reinforcing our already strong links over the coming three-and-a-half years, as we work to deliver great Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018.”

IOC

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KT sponsors 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) has signed a partnership agreement with South Korean telecommunications provider KT. As an official partner of PyeongChang 2018, KT will provide telecommunications service for the Games in areas such as wireless communications, broadcasting facilities and other technology-based infrastructure.

As official sponsor of 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games, KT will provide all-IP based networks including the games and business networks, the internet and WiFi; HD image transmission and broadcasting networks, including broadcasting circuits and equipments, IPTV and CATV; wireless networks including 3G, 4G, 5G and TRS; and fixed-line and wireless network services, including data transmission and firewalls. KT will also provide ICT based facilities, such as PDC/SDC, TOC/ATOC, and service center; and integrated security control center, including the installation of CCTV integrated security control equipments.

In turn, the Organizing Committee will provide KT with the right to use the designated emblem of the Games (the Organizing Committee, KOC, Team Korea), and other intellectual property rights; the exclusive right to provide products in the relevant category; the right for promotion activities, such as, show case and Live-Site. KT will also have the right to expose sponsor logo.

KT was also official sponsor of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the 2002 Busan Aisan Games, the 2011 Daegu World Athletics Championships and the G20 Seoul Summit.

http://www.telecompaper.com/news/kt-sponsors-2018-olympic-and-paralympic-winter-games--1029627

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South Korea is also making amazing strides in men's bobsleigh. Wouldn't be a shock now if they managed to get a sliding sport medal in 2018.

Home track is always a massive advantage. I'm almost positive they'll get one with that advantage.

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Korean Air signs on as corporate sponsor for PyeongChang Winter Olympics
Korean Air Lines Co., the country's flagship carrier, has become a corporate sponsor for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, the event organizers said Wednesday.

The signing ceremony took place at Lakai Sandpine Resort in Gangneung, east of PyeongChang in Gangwon Province. The International Olympic Committee's Coordination Commission on PyeongChang is visiting the area this week to check preparations for the Olympics. Gangneung will host curling, hockey and skating events at its coastal cluster during the Olympics

According to the organizing committee, Korean Air will provide passenger services for the Olympic organizers and national team athletes, and also cargo flights to aid the games' operations.

Korean Air also reserves a wide range of marketing rights, including the use of intellectual property and the use of PyeongChang's logo in their advertising campaigns.

PyeongChang had been on the hot seat for its inability to draw sponsors as the clock ticks down to the country's first Winter Games. In a meeting with corporate leaders last month, President Park Geun-hye was compelled to ask them to actively sponsor the Winter Olympics.

Cho Yang-ho, head of the organizing committee, is also chairman of Hanjin Group, the parent conglomerate of Korean Air. (Yonhap)
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Samsung to sponsor 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang signed a corporate sponsorship deal worth 100 billion won ($92 million) with Samsung Group on Monday.

The signing comes as games organizers are struggling to find companies to join their domestic sponsorship program, a key source of revenue for the games. Earlier this year, South Korean President Park Geun-hye made an appeal to local businesses to sponsor the games.

Organizing committee chief Cho Yang-ho was quoted as saying in a statement that he's confident Samsung's sponsorship agreement will encourage other South Korean firms to join as sponsors for the games.

"We've got a fresh strength.... It's certain the games would be successfully hosted," Cho said during the sponsorship signing ceremony in Seoul.

The statement said the committee has now signed six domestic sponsorship programs and achieved 41 percent of its sponsorship target.

The six companies include Korean Air, South Korea's largest airline. Cho is chairman of Korean Air.

AP

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_307134/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=FLnnJwBA

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PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be orchestrated with a collaboration of Master Class Experts



Seoul: The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) announces the participation of world renowned experts with backgrounds in directing past Olympic and Paralympic Ceremonies to collaborate in successful staging of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.


POCOG President Yang-Ho Cho said during the press conference held at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul today, “POCOG has formed the International Consulting Committee comprised of international experts who will work closely with domestic artists to showcase the cultural capacity of the host country and city in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Preparation has started in earnest.”


The International Consulting Committee is composed of a cast of globally distinguished directors such as Konstantin Ernst, Don Mischer, David Atkins and Sidney Kimme. Konstantin Ernst was the acclaimed director of the record-breaking highly successful ceremonies of the Sochi 2014 Olympic & Paralympic Games, and received accolades for his use of cutting-edge technology and the successfully interpretation of the artistic patrimony of Russia’s elaborate culture.


Don Mischer is very well-known for immortalizing his beautifully artistic fairy tale interpretation on the ice at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Games, and he is also famous for the iconic Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games’ ceremonies.


David Atkins has directed and produced some of the largest live events crossing continents and multi-languages including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, the Doha 2006 Asian Games and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Sidney Kimme is the Chief Creative Officer of Showscan Entertainment, a leading production company specializing in location-based entertainment, media artistic and media-based attractions.


The International Consulting Committee has been interviewing and studying the nominated candidates for the past two days to assess who would be selected to celebrate the theme of New Horizons for the key cultural and artistic ceremonies of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.


The five committee members will continue to contribute with their highly specialized backgrounds in staging successful Opening and Closing Ceremonies by participating in the final selection of the Director and the production of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.


POCOG President Yang-ho CHO, commented, “We are putting forward our best efforts to prepare for the successful Opening and Closing Ceremonies in cooperation with the International Consulting Committee as well as the Domestic Advisory Board which will be established soon.”



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Don Mischer is very well-known for immortalizing his beautifully artistic fairy tale interpretation on the ice at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Games, and he is also famous for the iconic Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games’ ceremonies.

The word is infamous, and iconic should be in put in quotations.

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The word is infamous, and iconic should be in put in quotations.

Nope. There was ONLY ONE Centennial set of Ceremonies, and like it or not, there are people even here, who liked them. Could you have done better? :rolleyes:

Frankly, I hope that with Ernst, Atkins and MIscher being consultants here, the Koreans can really put on outstanding ceremonies. The Handover at the Paralympics was particularly good. Why doesn't the PCOC get that team?

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The word is infamous, and iconic should be in put in quotations.

What was wrong with Atlanta's ceremonies? I used to hold a negative opinion of them until I watched them a couple of years ago - and given the context I think they were on point. Respect for the 100th Anniversary, celebration of the American South, and a light hearted nod to the fact that they were the upstart host (re: pick up trucks). The Olympics are youthful, and the cheerleaders were arguably more appropriate in that context than Danny Boyle's cringeworthy Frankie and June. Atlanta knew they weren't Barcelona or Athens, and were happy to admit it.

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Sidney Kimme is the Chief Creative Officer of Showscan Entertainment, a leading production company specializing in location-based entertainment, media artistic and media-based attractions.

I wondered who this "Kimme" was. And of course the "Kim.." in "Kimme" was a give-away. It turns out she is a Korean-born Sue Yeon-Kim who heads this Beverly Hills-based company which I never heard of. I guess they had to their token Korean in their, plus being BH-based, I think her Showscan firm brought the other 4 consultants together.

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/sidney-kimme-aka-sue-yeon-kim/80/76/58a

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Men's hockey groups have been announced by the IIHF:

Group A:

Canada

Czech Republic

Switzerland

South Korea

Group B:

Russia

USA

Slovakia

Third Qualifier

Group C:

Sweden

Finland

First Qualifier

Second Qualifier

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