The organizing committee for the 2018 Winter Olympics in the South Korean resort town of PyeongChang said on Tuesday that "it is opposed to co-hosting the quadrennial competition with North Korea, rejecting a view expressed earlier by the governor of the host city's home province," according to Yoo Jee-ho of YONHAP. VP of Planning & Administration Kwak Young-jin reiterated PyeongChang's earlier stance that PyeongChang "will not split any event of the Olympics with any other city." Kwak: "With the construction for all competition venues already under way, we have already made it crystal clear that there is no point of discussing co-hosting of the Olympics." Kwak's remarks were in response to comments by Gangwon Province Governor Choi Moon-soon on Monday that PyeongChang "could consider sharing the Winter Olympics with North Korea." Kwak expressed "grave concerns and strong regret" over Choi's words, saying the governor made "inappropriate comments that disappointed the people of South Korea" (YONHAP, 1/6). In Seoul, Nam Hyun-woo reported Choi's remarks "were in stark contrast to the stance of the government, POCOG and even his own previous speech, in which he staunchly opposed sharing the event."
Over the POCOG's "unusually strong response to Choi's remark, speculation was raised that this was because Choi is a member of opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, but Kwak denied it" (KOREA TIMES, 1/6).
