Sports minister to attend Beijing Winter Olympics

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee speaks in a ceremony for the national team for the Beijing Winter Olympics at the National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, Jan. 5. Yonhap

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee will visit China next month to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics as chief of the Korean government's official delegation, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, Tuesday.

Hwang will fly to Beijing on Feb. 3 to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics scheduled for the next day. The decision to send Hwang comes amid growing calls led by the United States for a diplomatic boycott of the Games citing China's human rights violations.

Korea has remained undecided over the delegation until last minute, considering both its economic ties with China and its much-needed security alliance with the U.S.

The government has been expressing hopes that the 2022 Beijing Games will follow in the footsteps of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games and 2020 Tokyo Summer Games in bringing peace and prosperity to Northeast Asia and promoting advancement of inter-Korean relations.

During his visit, Hwang will not only support and encourage Korean athletes by watching their performances but also utilize sports diplomacy to increase support for the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Separately from Hwang's government delegation, National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug will also attend the opening ceremony during his visit to Beijing at the invitation of Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.