President Moon Jae-in delivers his speech during the opening ceremony of the 132nd session of the International Olympic Committee, at the Gangneung Arts Center in Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do Province, on Feb. 5.
By Sohn JiAe
Photos = Hyojadong Studio
Video = KTV
President Moon Jae-in kicked off his diplomatic mission to pursue peace during the upcoming PyeongChang Olympic Games, as he attended the 132nd session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
President Moon welcomed around 200 IOC representatives, including IOC President Thomas Bach, to the session held at the Gangneung Arts Center in Gangwon-do Province on Feb. 5, just four days before the Olympic Games.
Mentioning that Pyeongchang would be hosting the largest-ever number of participants in the Winter Olympics, the president said, “The IOC and the Republic of Korea are here today to usher in the peaceful and safe Winter Games that we’ve endeavored to achieve over the past many years.”
He expressed his gratitude to IOC members that facilitated the participation of North Korean athletes in Pyeongchang and the establishment of a joint inter-Korean team. “The cooperation and the active participation of the IOC in making this happen has opened wide the door for a Games of Peace.”
The president said that, “PyeongChang will show the world and mankind the fact that sports can go beyond the barriers of politics and ideology, the fact that exchanges and communications through sports lead to world peace, and the fact that these achievements that we can make through sports are the great outcome of the Olympic spirit.”
He also stressed that the PyeongChang Olympic Games are the start of the so-called “Northeast Asia Olympic Relay,” saying that, “If the relay is to contribute to peace and prosperity across Northeast Asia and, moreover, for all of humanity, we will all be able to create the most significant Olympic legacy in history.”
IOC President Bach said that, “The PyeongChang Games have allowed another new beginning on the Korean Peninsula. They’ve opened the door for a peaceful dialogue between the two Koreas.”
Stressing that, “The two Koreas will send a powerful message of peace to the world when they march together under one flag,” the IOC leader continued to say that, “Coming, myself, from a formerly divided country [Germany], it’s a moment that I’m also personally looking forward to with great anticipation and great emotion.”
President Moon Jae-in (second from left) and IOC President Thomas Bach (fourth from left) pose for a commemorative photo with a performance troupe, during the opening ceremony for the 132nd IOC session in Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do Province, on Feb. 5.
The ongoing IOC session, underway at the Pyeongchang Kensington Hotel on Feb. 6, 7 and, lastly, 25, will bring about an inspection of Olympic doping policies and of preparations for the next Summer and Winter Olympic Games. President Bach is scheduled to hold a press conference on the final day of the session, Feb. 25, to share his thoughts about how well the PyeongChang Games went.
* A full text of President Moon’s speech can be downloaded in the attached file below.
jiae5853@korea.kr
