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President Roh Moo-hyun became the target of unjustified criticism on the web for Pyeongchang¡¯s failure to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, immediately after International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge announced the Russian city of Sochi as the host city. Korean netizens vented their anger and disappointment at President Roh on the websites of major news outlets and portals, saying nothing works out when the president steps in to help, and accusing him of messing it up at the last stage.
Roh was not the only target of the criticism. Some netizens even blamed the former short-track skater Chun Lee-kyung, who modeled to promote Pyeongchang¡¯s bid, while Russia hired tennis star Maria Sharapova as a promoter. Others attributed Pyeongchang¡¯s defeat to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and hostile inter-Korean relations, which they said motivated IOC members not to vote for the Korean bidder. Some argued that Pyeongchang lost because Incheon and Daegu were selected to host the 2014 Asian Games and the 2011 IAAF World Athletics Championships.
True, President Roh was hasty to say, at a meeting with Korean-Americans on his way to Guatemala City, ¡°I may sound bold, but don¡¯t worry. Pyeongchang will be picked as the host city.¡± But at the 119th session of the International Olympic Committee, which was to decide on the winning city, Roh did his utmost to woo votes for Pyeongchang as if he was conducting his own election campaign. He even visited IOC members at their hotels to persuade them. Officials of the bid committee, and the Samsung Group and Doosan Group, whose owners are IOC members, were willing to walk through fire to help Pyeongchang win its bid.
Although Pyeongchang lost due to insufficient sports diplomacy, the nation was united in rooting for the city and was extolled as ¡°the best¡± by the IOC and the international press. Pyeongchang campaigned to win its bid in a fair and transparent way, unlike Sochi, which was warned by the IOC about dishonest strategies like slandering its rivals. It is wrong to blame President Roh for everything that goes wrong just because you don¡¯t approve him.
The column was contributed by Jun Hyun-suk from the Chosun Ilbo¡¯s Internet News Desk.
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