Jin Jong-oh, the “God of Shooting,” who achieved Korea’s first three Olympic shooting titles, and Lee Sang-hwa, the “ice queen” who became the first Asian athlete to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals in speed skating, were appointed as the new organizers of the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyun presented letters of appointment to the new organizing committee chairman and new executives at the inauguration ceremony of the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games held at the International Conference Center at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 21st.
Minister Park congratulated the launch of the 2nd Organizing Committee and said, “Through the ‘2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games’, ‘a world united through K-culture and sports’ will be presented so that future generations of athletes can remember Korea as a country of cultural attraction. I will do it,” and asked for a lot of interest in the competition.
Organizing Committee Chairman Lee Sang-hwa, who was appointed on this day, is a gold medalist who became the first Asian athlete to win two consecutive gold medals in speed skating at the Olympics, and is a legend of ice skating who also won a silver medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Jin Jong-oh, chairman of the Organizing Committee, is also a gold medalist who set a legendary record of winning three consecutive Olympic shooting events for the first time as a Korean.
The two organizers are from young athletes representing the winter and summer respectively, and are expected to actively communicate and interact with the youth players (15-18 years old), the protagonists of this tournament.
Yoo Byung-jin, vice president of the Korea Sports Council, and Yoo Seung-min, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), were appointed as vice chairmen. Eleven members were appointed as executive committee members, including representatives of each winter event (biathlon, skiing, ice skating, and ice hockey) and experts in sports, youth, culture and art, and tourism.
Yuna Kim, who has served as a public relations ambassador since February of last year, and ballerina Kim Joo-won also joined the executive committee. The second organizing committee will be launched with a total of 43 members, including one each for legal and accounting auditors.
Inquiries: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Sports Cooperation Center Sports Heritage Team (044-203-3190)