ID :
193374
Wed, 07/06/2011 - 22:08
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/193374
The shortlink copeid
Lee calls PyeongChang's success 'victory' for Korean people
(LEAD) DURBAN, South Africa, July 6 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak rejoiced over PyeongChang's winning of the right to host the 2018 Winter Olympics on Wednesday, calling it a victory for all South Korean people.
"This is a victory for the people of the Republic of Korea. My fellow Koreans, thank you!" Lee said right after International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge announced that PyeongChang won the three-city race, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha.
PyeongChang won a majority of votes in the first round of voting against Germany's Munich and France's Annecy. It was the third time the South Korean alpine city had bid for the Winter Games after narrow defeats in two previous attempts.
Lee has been in Durban, South Africa, since Saturday to campaign for the alpine city.
Lee made a passionate speech during PyeongChang's final presentation before IOC members just a few hours before the voting, pledging to provide unconditional government support for PyeongChang's hosting of the Olympics.
"For the past 10 years, the people of Gangwon Province did not give up. Failures made them even more enthusiastic," Lee told hundreds of South Korean supporters gathered at a hotel in Durban, referring to the South Korean province where PyeongChang is located.
Since arriving in Durban, Lee said he had numerous meetings behind the scenes to ask for support for PyeongChang. So much so that other people were surprised enough to say, "How can a president move around like that?"
"I am grateful for the enthusiasm of the people of the Republic of Korea. I am going to have a lot of sleep tonight," he said. "Germany was really a strong nation, but we won. Sincerity moves heaven and I believe we were able to win as we pulled our sincerity together."
jschang@yna.co.kr
(END)
"This is a victory for the people of the Republic of Korea. My fellow Koreans, thank you!" Lee said right after International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge announced that PyeongChang won the three-city race, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha.
PyeongChang won a majority of votes in the first round of voting against Germany's Munich and France's Annecy. It was the third time the South Korean alpine city had bid for the Winter Games after narrow defeats in two previous attempts.
Lee has been in Durban, South Africa, since Saturday to campaign for the alpine city.
Lee made a passionate speech during PyeongChang's final presentation before IOC members just a few hours before the voting, pledging to provide unconditional government support for PyeongChang's hosting of the Olympics.
"For the past 10 years, the people of Gangwon Province did not give up. Failures made them even more enthusiastic," Lee told hundreds of South Korean supporters gathered at a hotel in Durban, referring to the South Korean province where PyeongChang is located.
Since arriving in Durban, Lee said he had numerous meetings behind the scenes to ask for support for PyeongChang. So much so that other people were surprised enough to say, "How can a president move around like that?"
"I am grateful for the enthusiasm of the people of the Republic of Korea. I am going to have a lot of sleep tonight," he said. "Germany was really a strong nation, but we won. Sincerity moves heaven and I believe we were able to win as we pulled our sincerity together."
jschang@yna.co.kr
(END)
