Lee had arrived at the Elangeni Hotel here last night amid security so tight that a couple attending their daughter's wedding reception at the hotel had their car towed away by South African police.

He was accompanied at the meeting today by Yang Ho Cho, the President and chief executive of Pyeongchang 2018, and Park Yong-sung, the President of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), and South Korea's Culture and Sports Minister Choung Byoung-gug and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan.

Pyeongchang are hoping that the presence of such a powerful political delegation from the Korean Government will help them clinch the Games having narrowly lost out to Vancouver for 2010 and Sochi for 2014.

"We have to check every detail thoroughly," Lee said at the meeting, according to Presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha.

"We should not make any mistake until the end.

"Sincerity moves heaven.

"Let's move heaven."


Lee is hoping to employ the same successful strategy used by Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair when London 2012 won its bid and and then Russian President Vladimir Putin helped Sochi pull off a shock to be awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics by speaking personally to as many International Olympic Committee (IOC) members as possible before the vote on Wednesday (July 6).

"The President is moving around the clock for Pyeongchang," his spokesman said.

Lee also plans to address the IOC Session in English, just as Putin did four years ago in Guatemala when Sochi were awarded the Games. 

His spokesman claimed that Lee had practiced so hard it had "hurt" his throat.

Oh Jee-chul, the President and chief executive of the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) who is the vice-chairman of Pyeongchang 2018, has also warned that although the Korean city has been most people's favourites for several months now it can nothing for granted, especially with Munich having gained momentum in recent weeks.

"For the success of the campaign, the last week is extremely important," he said.

"We will focus on working hard to ensure that we have highly impressive and flawless and touching and moving presentation.

"And we will continue to meet as many IOC members as possible to convince them why the 2018 Winter Olympic Games should come to Pyeongchang."

Oh admitted that Pyeongchang's campaign has been hindered by the fact that IOC members are not allowed to visit bid cities so most of the voters have never been there.

"According to the strict IOC ethics code, the IOC members are not allowed to visit us, so we have had a lot of difficulties to tell and show the IOC members how much we have improved in facilities and other preparations for the bid and also what we have accomplished and how we kept our promises to the Olympic family in the past.

Oh claimed that the message Lee and the rest of the Pyeongchang team will deliver to the IOC is a significant one.

"By supporting the Pyeongchang bid, they can help grow winter sports, not only in Korea, but in Asia and other regions of the world, particularly in under-developed nations in winter sports tradition," he said.

"They can change the history of the Olympic Movement and you can open the new chapter in Olympic history, in particular the Winter Olympic Games."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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