Olympic facilities must be used to promote development after games: president

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea must use the facilities being built for the 2018 Winter Olympics so they can contribute to national development after the games, President Lee Myung-bak said Monday.
In a gathering to laud officials who contributed to the successful bid to host the games that took place in Durban, South Africa, earlier in the month, Lee said the country's goal must be to successfully host the PyeongChang Olympics and then to find uses for the facilities.
PyeongChang, an alpine town some 180 kilometers east of Seoul in Gangwon Province, was voted the host of the games, easily sidestepping challenges by Munich of Germany and Annecy of France.
South Korea will become the second Asian country to host the Winter Games, after Japan.
"South Korea could transform itself into a center for winter sports enthusiasts from places such as Southeast Asia if it can make full use of the Olympic facilities," Lee said.
All the Olympic facilities that are already built or are being built will be located close together to provide maximum access to athletes and visitors.
Lee, however, stressed that, for the time being, every effort must be made to ensure that the PyeongChang Olympics are a success. South Korea won the right to host the Winter Olympics in its third attempt.
The president, meanwhile, expressed his appreciation for all the hard work put in by the bidding delegation that included Samsung Group chief Lee Kun-hee, reigning Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na and Cho Yang-ho, the head of the South Korea's bidding committee.