Lee was controversially granted a Presidential pardon in 2009 following his conviction for financial wrongdoing and tax evasion so that he could regain his place as a member of the IOC and help Pyeongchang's bid.

Since then, the billionaire has been travelling extensively around the world promoting Pyeongchang.

He has been based at the Alpensia resort here for several days to help with the Evaluation visit.

"I believe we can make it if we work harder," said Lee.

The lunch came in the middle of a hectic day for the 14-member Evaluation team, led by Sweden's Gunilla Lindberg, as they spent nearly 10 hours touring the area looking at venues, including the ski jump hill at Alpensia that features a main stand and will become the venue for Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as other facilities.

Pyeongchang has invested more than $1.5 billion (£927 million) to build facilities including Alpensia, the main venue with ski slopes, hotels, restaurants, golf courses and a convention centre.

Alpensia will host events such as the cross country and biathlon, while the nearby city of Gangneung will be home to skating and hockey.

The Sliding Centre will be added to Alpensia if Pyeongchang beats its rivals Annecy and Munich at the IOC Session in Durban on July 6 so that all outdoor events are located in the same cluster.

Seven out of the 13 necessary sites are already in place, with all venues accessible by bus within 30 minutes of each other, it is claimed.

During the tour, Pyeongchang officials pointed that out how it had kept the promises it made during its unsuccessful campaigns to host the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics and that it had committed to build a further two sports venues - for alpine skiing and figure skating/short track speed skating - irrespective of the 2018 host city result.

If Pyeongchang hosts the Winter Games in 2018, the Organising Committee will only need to oversee the construction of a further four Winter Games venues, they said.



Non-competition venues such as the Main Olympic Village, the Media Village, and the IOC Headquarter Hotel are also either completed or currently under construction, they told the Evaluation Commission.

The Commission saw Pyeongchang 2018's proposal for a ompact two-cluster Winter Games concept, comprising the Alpensia Resort, which is the mountain cluster with snow and sliding events, and Gangneung, the coastal cluster for the ice events.

It is claimed that with each cluster having its own Olympic Village, 90 per cent of all athletes will be able to travel to their competition venue within 10 minutes.

As the IOC Evaluation Commission toured Pyeongchang's venues, the Bid Committee also announced Toby Dawson, the Korean-American Olympic Bronze medallist, as an official Ambassador.

Born in Korea in 1978, he was adopted by American parents at the age of three.

His adoptive parents were ski instructors and he eventually became a top-class skier and won a bronze medal in the mogul competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

Following his Olympic success, Dawson was reunited with his Korean biological father, and a new documentary about his life will be aired on television around the world in April 2011.



Yang Ho Cho, the chairman and chief executive of Pyeongchang 2018, said: "We are delighted to be able to show the IOC Evaluation Commission that we have kept our promises and delivered on our commitment to creating a world class winter sports hub here in PyeongChang that will inspire future generations of winter sports athletes in Asia.

"I believe today's venue tour has shown the tremendous progress we have made and how we kept our promises to the IOC."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
February 2011: "Best of Korea" initiative helps boost Pyeongchang 2018 bid
February 2011: South Korean President meets IOC Evaluation Commission in Pyeongchang
February 2011: IOC Evaluation Commission arrive in Pyeongchang for second inspection of 2018 bidders