RIO DE JANEIRO - The head of South Korea's 2018 Winter Olympics said preparations are on track despite slight building delays as he pledged to create a new Asian hub for winter sports on Wednesday.
Lee Hee-Beom only took charge in May after the abrupt resignation of shipping magnate Cho Yang-Ho, but he said work was in hand to deliver a successful Games
Lee Hee-Beom only took charge in May after the abrupt resignation of shipping magnate Cho Yang-Ho, but he said work was in hand to deliver a successful Games.
Financial problems have dogged Pyeongchang but Lee told the International Olympic Committee in Rio that a revised budget would be presented this month, with 90 percent of funding expected by the end of the year.
Construction work on two venues, the International Broadcast Centre and the luge, bobsleigh and skeleton track, is "slightly delayed", IOC coordination commission chairperson Gunilla Lindberg said.
But Lee, head of the Pyeongchang Organising Committee (POCOG), told delegates: "Our preparations are firmly on track. I and my colleagues will work hard for the success of the Pyeongchang Games in 2018."
East Asia is set to become the focus of the winter sports world with Beijing following Pyeongchang as Winter Olympics hosts in 2022.
Tokyo is also organising the 2020 summer Games and talks are underway between the three countries -- whose relations are not always cordial -- to find ways to cooperate.
"Our aim is Pyeongchang should be the hub of winter sports games for East Asia, especially preparing for Beijing Olympic Games," said Lee.
"As the IOC very kindly organised three POCOG meetings with China, Korea and Japan, we will further discuss cooperation between the three countries."
Pyeongchang is embarking on a busy period of test competitions, with a breakneck schedule of 28 to be held at Olympic venues between October and next April.
"It's a very ambitious testing programme," Lindberg said. "It will give POCOG the opportunity to showcase its readiness."