ID :
97708
Fri, 01/01/2010 - 11:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/97708
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Ex-figure skating champ due in Seoul as U.S. goodwill envoy: State Dept.
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- Former world figure skating champion Michelle
Kwan will visit South Korea early next month in her capacity as a goodwill
ambassador, the State Department said Thursday.
"Michelle Kwan will visit Korea for the U.S. Department of State from January
3-9, 2010," the State Department said in a statement. "This will be the figure
skating champion's fifth tour in her role as a public diplomacy envoy under the
auspices of the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs."
Kwan's South Korean trip comes a month ahead of the Vancouver Winter Olympics,
where world champion figure skater Kim Yu-na is expected to bring home the first
gold medal in figure skating for South Korea. In recent decades, gold medals for
South Korea have largely been restricted to short-track speed skating.
"During the seven-day trip, Michelle will visit Seoul, Pyeongchang and Goyang,"
the statement said. "She will participate in a roundtable discussion with
university students, visit several high schools, conduct skating clinics,
participate in a Special Olympics program and meet with U.S. Forces Korea on the
Yongsan Military Garrison."
The U.S. maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean
War, which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. The U.S. fought
alongside South Korea against invading North Korean soldiers aided by their
Chinese communist ally.
Kim Yu-na's emergence contributed to a winter sports boom in South Korea, which
unsuccessfully bid to host the Winter Olympics for 2010 and 2014.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Tuesday pardoned Lee Kun-hee, former
chairman of Samsung Group, to allow him to play a role in lobbying for
Pyeongchang's bid to host the 2018 Winter Games.
Lee, one of the most influential businessmen in South Korea, volunteered to
suspend his rights as a member of the International Olympic Committee last year
when he was given a three-year suspended prison term for tax evasion.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- Former world figure skating champion Michelle
Kwan will visit South Korea early next month in her capacity as a goodwill
ambassador, the State Department said Thursday.
"Michelle Kwan will visit Korea for the U.S. Department of State from January
3-9, 2010," the State Department said in a statement. "This will be the figure
skating champion's fifth tour in her role as a public diplomacy envoy under the
auspices of the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs."
Kwan's South Korean trip comes a month ahead of the Vancouver Winter Olympics,
where world champion figure skater Kim Yu-na is expected to bring home the first
gold medal in figure skating for South Korea. In recent decades, gold medals for
South Korea have largely been restricted to short-track speed skating.
"During the seven-day trip, Michelle will visit Seoul, Pyeongchang and Goyang,"
the statement said. "She will participate in a roundtable discussion with
university students, visit several high schools, conduct skating clinics,
participate in a Special Olympics program and meet with U.S. Forces Korea on the
Yongsan Military Garrison."
The U.S. maintains 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean
War, which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. The U.S. fought
alongside South Korea against invading North Korean soldiers aided by their
Chinese communist ally.
Kim Yu-na's emergence contributed to a winter sports boom in South Korea, which
unsuccessfully bid to host the Winter Olympics for 2010 and 2014.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Tuesday pardoned Lee Kun-hee, former
chairman of Samsung Group, to allow him to play a role in lobbying for
Pyeongchang's bid to host the 2018 Winter Games.
Lee, one of the most influential businessmen in South Korea, volunteered to
suspend his rights as a member of the International Olympic Committee last year
when he was given a three-year suspended prison term for tax evasion.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
