S. Korea to seek ways to expand IOC membership

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will start a full-scale campaign to expand its membership on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ahead of the body's next general meeting, a government official said Friday. "We will start discussing ways to help a South Korean become a new IOC member after the Feb. 9-25 PyeongChang Olympics," the official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said. Currently, South Korea has only one active IOC member -- former Olympic table tennis gold medalist Ryu Seung-min, who was elected to the IOC's Athletes' Commission for an eight-year term in 2016. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee had been an IOC member since 1996 but resigned last year after being hospitalized for years. There have been growing voices in the country saying that South Korea, the host of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, needs more seats with permanent membership on the IOC. In the early 2000s, the country had three active IOC members, including the late Kim Un-yong, former vice-president of the IOC, and Park Yong-sung, former chairman of the International Judo Federation. There are 115 members on the IOC, and candidates may be an individual member, an active athlete, a representative of an international sports federation or a representative from a national Olympic body. South Korea will seek to have a spot as an individual member and will nominate a renowned heavyweight in the sporting world as its IOC candidate. The next election to choose new IOC members will be held at the 133rd IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October, the next general meeting following the one before the PyeongChang Olympics. brk@yna.co.kr (END)