There are still more than two weeks to go before the final results of South Korea's bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics, which are contested between Seoul and Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province. Following the board meeting on the 17th, the Korean Sports Association will hold a general meeting of representatives on the 28th to decide on the city's bid for the country.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (left), who is bidding to host the 2036 Olympics, and Kim Kwan-yong, Governor of North Jeolla Province

At the board meeting of the Korean Athletic Association held at the Seoul Hall of the Olympic Park Hotel in Songpa-gu, Seoul at 2 p.m. local time on the 17th, the results of the international committee's deliberation on the bid for the Desired City will be submitted to the General Council of Representatives. Based on the results of the on-site investigation, the Korea Sports Association prepared an evaluation report, which was reviewed by the international committee.

Following the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Seoul City and Jeollabuk-do, which are planning to host the Summer Olympics in South Korea for the first time in 48 years, have put forward their advantages and are looking forward to representing their national bids. The Seoul Metropolitan Government emphasized that it not only has the experience of successfully hosting the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, sports facilities, transportation, accommodation and other infrastructure, but is also an international city that ranks sixth in the world in terms of overall competitiveness.

The Olympic Center building where the Korea Sports Association is located

In 2019, Seoul was selected as a city to bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics, but although it pushed forward with the joint bid between the two Koreas, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) named Brisbane, Australia, as a "priority city for consultation".

The advantage of the city of Seoul is that the existing facilities can be used for nearly 100%, and the travel distance between Incheon International Airport and the stadium is less than one hour, which meets the requirements of the IOC. At the same time, in a public survey conducted last summer, 85.2% of Seoul residents were in favor of bidding for the Olympics in the hope of repeating the glory of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In order to support the Seoul Metropolitan Government's bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games, the Seoul Metropolitan Assembly recently set up a special committee and appointed Song Kyung-taek, a member of the National Power Council, as its chairman.

Image of venues related to Seoul's bid to host the Olympic Games in 2036

Jeollabuk-do Province has recently focused on achieving balanced national development through the concept of "Alliance of Local Cities," which is a bid city. Jeollabuk-do Province bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, but lost out when it opened a domestic bid with Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province. Pyeongchang lost to Russia's Sochi in the bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics, but Pyeongchang then won the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.

If Jeollabuk-do bids to host the Olympics, the track and field competitions will be held at Daegu Stadium, while other competitions will be held in Gwangju (International Archery Range, Nambu Daeshi International Swimming Pool), Chungnam Hongseong (Chungnam International Tennis Stadium), Chungbuk Cheongju (Cheongju Multipurpose Indoor Gymnasium), and Jeonnam Gyeongse (Nam Re Sunrise Beach).

The Seoul Metropolitan Council recently established a special committee to support the Seoul Metropolitan Government's bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games

This is in line with the IOC's request to reduce the cost of hosting through the alliance of neighboring cities, and to emphasize the achievement of balanced domestic development through the decentralization of infrastructure and economic forces concentrated in the metropolitan area. Jeollabuk-do Province recently appointed Lee Hoe Taek, president of South Korea's "legend" of Korean football, and Hyun Jeong-hwa, the head coach of the Korea Horse Club and a gold medalist in table tennis at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, as ambassadors. In addition, sports stars from the region, such as Park Sung-hyun (archery), Kim Dong-moon (badminton), and Yoo In-joo (wrestling), also served as ambassadors.

The image of the venue related to the bid of Jeollabuk-do Province for the 2036 Olympic Games

The Korea Athletic Association will hold a general meeting of representatives at 3 p.m. on the 28th at the Olympic Hall on the 1st floor of the Olympic Park Hotel in Seoul to select the candidate cities through a secret ballot. In the order of Seoul City and Jeollabuk-do, the candidates will have a 15-minute Q&A after the 45-minute presentation (PT), and after the evaluation committee's report on the findings, the deputies will hold a secret ballot. PT, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Jeonbuk Governor Kim Kwan-young will be the speakers in person.

Lee Hoe Taek (far left) and Hyun Jing-whwa (far right), who have been appointed ambassadors for the 2036 Jeollabuk-do Olympic Games. In the center of the photo is Jeonbuk Governor Kim Kwan-young.

It will be interesting to see which of the two provinces in Seoul and Jeollabuk-do will be selected as candidates for the domestic bid.