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South Korean Minister of Culture

South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan departed Incheon International Airport on Feb. 13 en route to the Swiss city of Lausanne, home of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters.

Accompanied by Korean Sport and Olympic Committee president Lee Kee-heung and IOC Athletes’ Commission member Ryu Seung-min, Do is to visit the IOC headquarters on Feb. 15 with North Korean Physical Culture and Sports Minister Kim Il-guk to meet with IOC President Thomas Bach. During their meeting, the three are expected to discuss plans for organizing unified inter-Korean teams for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

During two rounds of previous athletic subcommittee talks, South and North Korea agreed to field unified teams in “events where there is past experience with unified team competition or those that have been proposed by international sports associations.” Discussions with international sport associations and participating countries will also be required for the organization of unified teams at the Tokyo Olympics.

Discussions at the meeting appear likely to focus on coordinating Olympic competition entries and establishing quotas through Olympic qualifying. Seoul and Pyongyang are also expected to announce plans to bid jointly for the 2032 Summer Olympics. The host city for the 2032 Games is scheduled to be decided seven years beforehand at the 2025 IOC Session.

Prior to his departure, Do expressed his “hope that unified Olympic teams can provide a springboard for peaceful interchange and the establishment of peace.”

“Four events have been more or less finalized [for unified teams at the Tokyo Olympics], and I plan to have us discuss and agree on an additional event at this meeting,” he added.

By Lee Chan-yeong, staff reporter

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