Prime minister emphasizes importance of sanitation at Gangwon Olympic sites

Prime Minister Han Duk-soo visited Pyeongchang and Gangnueng in Gangwon on Thursday to inspect the facilities to be used for the upcoming Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics.

Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, second from left, inspects the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre in Pyeongchang, Gangwon on Thursday ahead of the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics set to begin on Jan. 19. [YONHAP]

Prime Minister Han Duk-soo visited Pyeongchang and Gangnueng in Gangwon on Thursday to inspect the facilities to be used for the upcoming Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics.

Han’s visit to Gangwon comes just over two weeks before the Youth Winter Games are set to begin on Jan. 19.

Alongside Han, Gangwon Governor Kim Jin-tae, Deputy Governor of Economic Affairs of Gangwon Jeong Kwang-yeol, Co-head of the Organizing Committee Jin Jong-oh, Secretary General of the Organizing Committee Kim Chul-min, Second Vice Minister of Sports Jang Mi-ran and Chief of the Disaster Management Office at the Interior Ministry Yi Han-kyung also inspected the facilities and spoke to officials in charge of tournament management.

The group first went to Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre and Alpensia Biathlon Center in Pyeongchang, visiting the spectator seats, portable toilets and other facilities, before visiting Pyeongchang Dome in Pyeongchang. The opening ceremony will take place at Gangneung Oval in Gangneung and will be livestreamed at Pyeongchang Dome with a big screen inside.

Han emphasized the importance of sanitation during the inspection.

“Sanitation is a basic and essential aspect that determines the image of a tournament, so please take excessive care of it,” Han said. “Please be prepared for issues like bathrooms freezing or other unexpected situations, as the tournament is taking place in winter.”

The group later moved to Gangneung and inspected the Gangneung-Wonju National University Gangneung Campus, which will be used as the Olympic village.

The Gangneung Oval was the group’s last destination. Alongside the opening ceremony, speed skating races will also take place at the Oval.

A total of 1,950 athletes from 80 countries are expected to compete at the Games, with 81 medals on the line across 15 different events from Jan. 19 through Feb. 1.

In addition to Gangneung and Pyeonchang, Jeongseon County and Hoengseong County in Gangwon will also play host to the Youth Olympics.

With the Gangwon Youth Olympics, Korea will become the first-ever Asian country to host the Winter Youth Games. The past three tournaments were all held in Europe — first in Austria in 2012, Norway in 2016 and Switzerland in 2020.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]