Cho made the promise during an event to mark a year since he returned to head the Organising Committee following the surprise resignation of Kim Jin-sun as President.

“We won’t be wasting precious taxpayers’ money or Government budget,” Cho, who led Pyeongchang's successful bid to host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics before being replaced by Kim, said.

“We’ve been trying to figure out how to run the most effective and economic Olympic Games, and some steps are already being taken.”

Cho revealed that there could be an announcement soon about changing some of the venues in an effort to cut the budget. 

Coastal city Gangneung is due to be used for the figure skating, curling, ice hockey, speed and short-track skating events, while the Alpensia Resort will host the mountain-based events.

“We haven’t yet established specific plans, but we’ll be renting pieces of equipment that won’t be of much use after the Olympics instead of buying them,” Cho said.

“Also, we have more flexibility under Olympic Agenda 2020 and we’ll be able to combine some venues to cut costs.” 

Cho, who is also President of the Hanjin Group, a  conglomerate which includes Korean Air, claimed that he is confident preparations for Pyeongchang 2018 are progressing in the right direction "thanks to coordinated efforts by the Organising Committee, the Government and Gangwon Province".

Related stories
July 2015: Experienced South Korean appointed executive creative director for Pyeongchang 2018 Ceremonies
June 2015: New disciplines added to Pyeongchang 2018 but snowboard parallel slalom cut to accommodate them
June 2015: New events across four sports proposed for Pyeongchang 2018
May 2015: Pyeongchang 2018 unveils slogan as part of 1,000-days-to-go celebration
May 2015: South Korean Olympic skating champions Lee, Park and Mo revealed as latest Pyeongchang 2018 honorary ambassadors