South Korea is considering a joint 2032 Olympic bid with its northern neighbors in an attempt to maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-Hwan said that co-hosting the summer Olympics with the North would help to ease tensions and promote peace in the region, which has been at the center of tensions due to Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
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“I plan to make this proposal [to jointly bid for the Games] to the North for the settlement of peace,” Do said on Wednesday during a business trip to Tokyo. “Seoul and Pyongyang would co-host the games,” he added.
The minister noted that the idea of holding the joint event with North Korea stemmed from the successful experience of the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, where a united Korean women’s ice hockey team competed under one flag.
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The two countries also marched together under a unified Korean flag at the opening ceremony of the Games, marking a thaw in strained relations after decades of mutual hostility.
“The PyeongChang Winter Olympics showed the Olympic values very well,” Do said. “I hope peace in Northeast Asia can continue through sports.”
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The South Korean minister also proposed making a pan-Asian bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030 with North Korea, China and Japan.
“We heard that China is going to make a bid to host the World Cup,” he said. “But we want to make a proposal of co-hosting the event with Asian neighbors like North Korea, China and Japan. In this way, we can maintain the current atmosphere of peace and can connect Northeast Asia peace with peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
