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South Korea Olympic chair Cho Yang-ho resigns

Posted May. 04, 2016 07:33,   

Updated May. 04, 2016 07:40

한국어

Cho Yang-ho (photo), the chief organiser of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, has offered to resign.

The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Organizing Committee announced on Tuesday, that the 67-year-old Hanjin Group chairman has stepped down to focus on urgent matters, including his business Hanjin Shipping, a leading Korean carrier recently struggling with financial issues. The conglomerate applied for a creditor-debt restructuring plan last Monday, submitting Cho’s memorandum of resignation from management and self-rescue measures.

“Cho’s stepping down from the Olympics Committee and Iran visit all represent his dedication to saving the battered Hanjin Group,” said an insider of the group. Cho was supposed to join President Park's visit to Iran as an economic delegate with along with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, GS Group Chairman Heo Chang-soo, LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol, but called off the plan at the last minute.

Despite Mr. Cho’s acknowledgement of the official reason for resignation, some members of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the sports circle carefully speculate that the government is unsatisfied with the amount of funding gathered so far. The government seemed to have expected a lot more from the South Korean tycoon. Mr. Cho’s original term was to end in July this year.

The sudden vacancy is raising attention on who will be the replacement. The Olympics are scheduled to launch on Feb. 9, 2018, in just a year and nine months from now. This means the successor has only such time to take over all the remaining procedures to organize the opening and closing ceremonies. The vacancy will be filled after nomination and selection processes by the committee, followed by authorization by the ministry.



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