With South Korea "reeling from the ouster" of its president, IOC President Thomas Bach said that the 2018 Winter Games "will help unite the people" of the nation, according to YONHAP. Bach said that "the Olympic Games have the power to bring people together," and the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, some 180km east of Seoul, will come at "an important moment" for South Korea. After receiving an honorary doctoral degree at Korea National Sport University in Seoul, Bach said, "After the political differences that your country is going through now, the PyeongChang Olympic Games can unite the Koreans and make them proud again of their country, and of their athletes" (YONHAP, 3/14). YONHAP also reported KNSU President Kim Seong-jo said that he hopes his students will see Bach "as a role model." Kim also said that KNSU "plans to set up the Center for Olympic Academy in Asia to document and archive records related to the Olympics." Kim added, "We hope that the IOC grants us the construction of this center so that KNSU, in support of the IOC and the national Olympic committee, can contribute to the spread of Olympic spirit in Asia through the right education" (YONHAP, 3/14).
MASCOT COMPETITION: KYODO reported the "criteria for selecting the official mascot of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could be finalized by mid-April," the Games' organizing committee said. After the seventh discussion of a panel deciding the procedures for the mascot's public design competition, organizers said that they have "drawn up a rough draft of the selection process which will be submitted" to the IOC and the IPC "by the end of the month at the latest" (KYODO, 3/14).
