No Plan to Share
Regarding the controversy over splitting the events of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games with another country, President Park Geun-hye said, “It is meaningless to discuss it.”
While presiding over a chief secretary meeting on Dec. 15, she said, “Since it is meaningless to discuss hosting the games with other country, the relevant ministries should respond to the IOC with clear and persuasive logic.”
President Park continued, “We got to host the games with difficulty on our third bid, and the construction of each stadium is already under way. Now that there is not much time to prepare for the event, pending issues must be settled completely by the end of this year and preparation tasks should proceed as planned from next year.”
The total budget for the PyeongChang Winter Games, including both direct and indirect costs, amounts to 13 trillion won (US$11.8 billion), including 699.3 billion won (US$636.9 million) for building stadiums, 7.7503 trillion (US$7.0529 billion) for the expansion of the road access networks in the area, and 1.4273 trillion won (US$1.3020 billion) for creating subsidiary facilities and the budget for SOC projects.
However, the government has come into conflict with Gangwon Province, as it urged the province to change designs and cut back on budgets when work on the venues began in earnest.
In October, President Park paid a visit to PyeongChang and expressed her commitment saying, “I will strengthen government-wide support for the games in order to improve Korea’s international status and serve as the catalyst for Gangwon Province’s growth.” But despite her comment, Gangwon Province’s requests have not yet been accepted.