IOC President Thomas Bach met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul ©Office of the President of South Korea

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has arrived here for the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly, and attended a dinner with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

German official Bach, who has led the IOC since 2013, is set to deliver a keynote speech to delegates at the COEX Convention Centre in South Korea's capital Seoul during the ANOC General Assembly on Wednesday (October 19) and Thursday (October 20).

Prior to the General Assembly, South Korean news agency Yonhap reports that Bach, ANOC Acting President Robin Mitchell, vice-president for Asia Yu Zaiqing, IOC Ethics Commission chair and former United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon shared dinner with Yoon at the Presidential office.

Yoon succeeded Moon Jae-in as the South Korean head of state in May of this year.

During the talks with sports administrators, Yoon offered his backing to the General Assembly, set to be staged in Seoul, and said he "deeply appreciates the dedication and hard work of ANOC to practice the Olympic spirit of peace and reconciliation through sports at a time when everyone is experiencing trouble due to the pandemic and international disputes", as reported by Yonhap.

Thomas Bach, second from left, and Yoon Suk-yeol, second from right, had dinner at the Presidential office ©Office of the President of South Korea
Thomas Bach, second from left, and Yoon Suk-yeol, second from right, had dinner at the Presidential office ©Office of the President of South Korea

South Korea had originally been due to stage the gathering of National Olympic Committees in 2020, but the event was cancelled that year and moved to Crete in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

IOC President Bach delivered messages virtually at the General Assemblies of the Olympic Council of Asia in Cambodia earlier this month and Panam Sports in Chile, having attended the European Olympic Committees and Oceania National Olympic Committees gatherings in-person earlier in the year.

During the start of his trip to Seoul, Bach has also met with the Organising Committee of the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

The second vice-minister of culture, sports and tourism Cho Yong-man, Korea Sports Council President Lee Kee-heung and Ryu Seung-min - both IOC members - and Gangwon 2024 secretary general Kim Chul-min attended the event to speak about preparations with Bach.

Gangwon is due to stage the fourth Winter edition of the Youth Olympics from January 19 to February 1 2024, with approximately 1,900 athletes expected to take part.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, fourth from right front, offered his backing to the ANOC General Assembly in Seoul ©Office of the President of South Korea
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, fourth from right front, offered his backing to the ANOC General Assembly in Seoul ©Office of the President of South Korea

Bach had been due to travel to Tokyo to attend an event marking the first anniversary of the Olympics and Paralympics held in the Japanese capital prior to the ANOC General Assembly, but pulled out "due to scheduling reasons".

In October 2020, Bach received the Seoul Peace Prize, which included a $200,000 (£175,000/€203,000) reward donated to the Olympic Refugee Foundation and three other social charities.

The award was collected on his behalf by Ban.

Bach received praise from the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation for his "contribution to peace through sport in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia" with reference to the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, support for refugees and internal IOC reforms through Olympic Agenda 2020.