PyeongChang 2018 Hires Another Secretary General, Ski Fed Meets

(ATR) The secretary general position has been a revolving door for the PyeongChang 2018 organizing committee.

Yeo Hyungkoo is the latest appointee to the position by POCOG. Yeo, who has 35 years experience in public service, begins his role with immediate effect on Monday (Nov. 9) in Seoul.

POCOG has undergone multiple overhauls since its inception, evidenced by Yeo replacing previous secretary general Kwak Youngjin.

Kwak is now finished with his role as the interim secretary general after taking over for Dong Hoo Moon, the original holder of the position. Kwak joined POCOG in April 2014 as the vice president of planning before taking on the extra role.

Moon stepped down in early 2014 reportedly due to health issues. However, Around the Rings understood that POCOG was caught in a political battle at the time, which may have been the reason Moon stepped down.

Former chairman Jin Sun Kim may have also been involved in the political turmoil as he resigned in July 2014 and was replaced by current president Yang Ho Cho.

Yeo will be responsible for all Games-related facilities including competition venues, the Olympic Stadium for opening & closing ceremonies and assuring that construction of the Olympic villages will be completed on time.

He will also oversee critical issues such as marketing, accommodations, transport and promotion of the Games to the public. Yeo will immediately visit venues in PyeongChang and Gangneung to receive progress reports.

"We are only 2 years away from the opening of the Games, and there are 3 months left to the start of the first test event which will serve as the cornerstone of success in 2018," Yeo said in a statement from PyeongChang 2018.

"Throughout my 35-years of public service, I’ve always believed that the answers emerge on the spot, and I will also do the same for PyeongChang 2018."

Yeo was most recently Korea’s 2nd vice minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

One of Yeo's first events as secretary general came on Nov. 10 at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul where POCOG hosted a ceremony to commence the design contest to determine the Look of the Games.

Fourteen artists will display their themes and motif designs throughout the week of Nov. 11-17. In conjunction with the displays, POCOG is launching a worldwide public survey online here or on the PyeongChang 2018 Facebook page.

Following the conclusion of the poll, POCOG will announce the winner of the official Look Design of PyeongChang 2018 at the exhibition.

Olympics on Agenda at FIS Council Meeting in Oberhofen

The International Ski Federation held its Autumn meeting November 7th addressing a full agenda regarding the new season, including reports on upcoming world championships and the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

The PyeongChang update mostly related to the status of the construction at the Jeongseon Alpine Center and Bokwang Snow Park venues, as they are slated to host alpine skiing and freestyle/snowboard World Cup events in February. They are the first official test events from the Games.

Men’s World Cup downhill and super-G events are scheduled for Feb. 6-7, but are contingent upon completion of a new gondola, which has been hampered by various delays.

Additionally, FIS president Gian-Franco Kasper provided the first update following the election of Beijing as host of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, in particular from the Olympic Summit regarding implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020 and the Olympic Channel.

Applications for upcoming FIS world championships were confirmed. Cortina d’Ampezzo is the lone candidate for the 2021 Alpine championships, while Planica, Slovenia is the only candidate to submit for skiflying in 2020.

Planica, Obersdorf, Germany and Trondheim, Norway are all candidates for the 2021 Nordic championships.

The Council also approved provisional memberships for Uganda and Afghanistan bringing the total of combined full and associate FIS member National Associations to 126.

Finally, the Council approved the provisional agenda for the 50th International Ski Congress in 2016, which is will be held in Cancun, Mexico, June 5-11.

Written by Brian Pinelli

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