Pyeongchang organizer vows to keep budget balanced

Lee Hee-beom, the head of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games organizing committee (POCOG), said here Tuesday that South Korea is trying its best to have a balanced budget for the coming 2018 Games.

"Both the budget issue and the legacy issue are very important," Lee told the press at the ongoing Asian Winter Games in Sapporo.

"When we first bid for the Games in 2010, the original budget was set at 2.2 trillion won (about 1.92 billion US dollars), but the situation has changed since then and the Games have been expanded," he said. "I revised the budget from 2.2 trillion won to 2.8 trillion won (about 2.44 billion dollars)."

Although the amount has inflated, Lee said at this moment the income is expected to be some 2.4 trillion won (about 2.094 billion dollars).

According to Lee, the POCOG has been doing a lot to have a balanced budget.

As noted by Lee, the venues across Pyeongchang, Gangwon, are welcoming athletes, officials and winter sports fans around the world with open arms through test events. In 2017, the POCOG has successfully hosted nine test events.

The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2017 just concluded on Sunday.

"The test events will continue until mid-April, which means the construction of all the venues are almost completed," Lee said, adding that all competition and non-competition structures would be in place by the end of the year.

The Pyeongchang Games will mark the second time for South Korea to host the Olympics, as Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Games. Endit