Ticket sales for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics surpassed 60%, according to YONHAP. The Games will open on Feb. 9. As of Thursday, 655,000 tickets had been sold, or 61% of the organizers’ "target" of 1.07 million tickets. Sales for the tickets "had been sluggish." The recent opening of the "new high-speed railway connecting Seoul and PyeongChang," some 180km east of the capital, "should further boost ticket sales," the organizing committee said. The opening ceremony has sold 67% of its tickets so far (YONHAP, 12/24).
'ENSURE THE SAFETY': In Seoul, Im Eun-byel reported the Korean government recently deported 17 foreign nationals to "ensure the safety" of the PyeongChang 2018 Games. Local daily Seoul Shinmun reported on Monday, 17 foreigners who were "believed to pose a terror risk," including nationals from Southeast Asia and Central Asia, were deported from Korea. According to an official, the government "cooperated with 50 foreign intelligence agencies" -- including those of China, France, Japan, Russia and the U.S. The deported individuals were members of organizations that have been "closely watched by the intelligence services" (KOREA HERALD, 12/26).
