More than 100 people are members of the Bid Committee, South Korean news agency Yonhap reports, among them the Mayors of both Gwangju and Daegu, sporting figures and prominent businesspeople.

A ceremony to kickstart the campaign is due to be held tomorrow in Daegu.

The two cities are approximately 180 kilometres apart, but have cooperated for many years under the auspices of the Dalbit Alliance.

Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop said a joint bid for the Asian Games could constitute "creating a national turning point for East-West harmony", per Yonhap.

The cities are both in the southern region of South Korea - Gwangju in the far south-west and Daegu in the east.

The Bid Committee will need the endorsement of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee if its candidature is to get as far as being proposed to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

The OCA already has hosts for the next four editions of its flagship event.

Hangzhou in China is to hold the next Asian Games next year, before it returns to Japan for Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

At the end of last year, a unique double award saw Qatari capital Doha win the right to stage the 2030 Asian Games, and Saudi counterpart Riyadh given the 2034 edition after missing out on 2030. 

South Korea has hosted the Asian Games three times before.

Incheon was the most recent host, in 2014, while Busan staged the Games in 2002 and Seoul was the destination of the 1986 event.

While Daegu and Gwangju have not staged the Asian Games before, they do have experience in putting on major sporting events and several existing facilities.

The 2003 Summer Universiade took place in Daegu, as did athletics' 2011 World Championships.

The 2015 Summer Universiade was in Gwangju, and so too was the 2019 World Aquatics Championships.

Gwangju and Daegu also both hosted FIFA World Cup matches in 2002.

With the 2038 Asian Games more than 15 years away, the OCA is not expected to select a host in the immediate future and rival bids could well emerge.

Olympic Council of Malaysia vice-president Dato' Shahrul Zaman Yahya last month told insidethegames that the organisation "are looking at hosting the Asian Games".

India, which has ambitions to stage the Olympics, could well launch a bid too, having last held the Asian Games in 1982.