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Do Jong-whan (left)

While the Blue House said on Jan. 18 that it “completely understands” the criticism about the creation of a unified women’s hockey team for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, it asked people to look at the bigger picture of creating the “Peace Olympics.”

“We completely understand the criticism that the creation of a unified Korean women’s hockey team is unfair and unjust. Young people want a country in which the processes are fair and [the results] are just, and we definitely understand why they would think that the process was unfair [this time]. I don’t think we can give young people the explanation that it’s okay for [the athletes on the South Korean women’s hockey team] to suffer a little harm because creating a unified team is more important,” a senior Blue House official said during a press conference on Jan. 18.

South and North Korean negotiators agreed to create a unified inter-Korean women’s hockey team during the vice minister-level talks on Jan. 17. But along the way, there has been considerable criticism that the athletes on the South Korean team who earned the right to compete in the Olympics will have fewer opportunities to play in the games and that this will also undermine the team’s esprit de corps.

“Given the threat of war that was felt on the Korean Peninsula [until recently], the current mood and developments are a very positive development. I hope you will look at the big picture, which is that we’re moving toward the Peace Olympics that we wanted and that we’re discussing North Korea’s participation in the Olympics, which is something we never dreamed could happen. The most important thing is that we’re moving toward peace,” the official said.

“If inter-Korean relations become peaceful, if we can avoid a crisis while steadily engineering an economic paradigm shift toward income-focused growth, and if we find ourselves in a position where we can focus on creating jobs for young people, I think that, in the long run, this will help us deal with the youth issue.

“The government has said it will do its best to ensure that [the athletes’] sweat and tears will not be wasted through unfair means, and this issue will be resolved with the IOC [International Olympic Committee] by adding something to sweeten the pot [increasing the team’s roster],” the official added.

Minister of Sports Culture and Tourism

This official also said that creating a unified team would help expand the base for hockey in South Korea: “If not for the issue of the unified team, no one would have paid attention to the hockey team. Global attention is turning to reports about how diligently the athletes have trained in challenging conditions and about all their sweat, efforts and sacrifice. It would be great if hockey could develop [despite the controversy about the unified team].”

“There will obviously be talk [about expanding the base and support measures] in the sport of hockey, and better measures are also being discussed in meetings with the Minister and Vice Minister of Cultural, Sports and Tourism,” the official said.

Officials from South and North Korea, the IOC and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHC) appear to have coordinated their views on the issue of creating a unified hockey team. IOC President Thomas Bach has been in constant contact with the IIHC, which will decide whether to expand the roster size of the inter-Korean unified team.

Switzerland, which is in the B group for women’s hockey, has reportedly voiced its opposition to the expansion of the unified Korean team, and there is talk that the IOC or the IIHC will step in to mediate.

“South and North Korea have agreed for five or six North Korean athletes to join the unified women’s hockey team. We’re hearing that the IOC and other organizations will accept this,” Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said on Jan. 18. The four-party meeting will begin at 5:30 pm on Jan. 20, and Bach will announce the results himself after the meeting.

By Kim Chang-keum, staff reporter

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