President Moon Jae-in met with the new President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Andres Parsons, at Cheong Wa Dae for 35 minutes from 4 o’clock this afternoon. IPC President Parsons is visiting Korea to attend the 9th IPC Project Review meeting. They exchanged ideas about the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

President Moon began by congratulating Andrew Parsons on his election as new IPC President. They reached an agreement that the Korean Government and the IPC would join efforts to make the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics, which is now about five months away, a great success.

President Moon and IPC President Parsons also discussed the possibility of North Korea’s participation in the Paralympics. President Moon said if the North should participate in the PyeongChang Games, it would set a new milestone for the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula. In this connection, President Moon called for special attention and cooperation from the IPC.

President Moon said he was wondering how the IPC President evaluated the progress of the preparations for the PyeongChang Paralympics, adding that the Korean Government would, by all means, make up for any shortcomings. In response, IPC President Parsons said he was very gratified and deeply impressed by preparations in most areas except for the promotion of the Paralympics, pointing out the necessity of focusing more on selling tickets. He said this is important so that Olympic athletes would be able to perform in a better environment and it would encourage more people to participate in the event and share inspiration.

Agreeing with that, President Moon noted that preparations for the upcoming winter Olympics and Paralympics were going smoothly in terms of various facilities such as stadiums, game operations, transportation infrastructure and accommodations. However, the President said that public interest in the Games was still lacking. President Moon continued that he would work hard as the honorary ambassador for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, adding that Gangwon-do Province and the Organizing Committee would also do their utmost. In this connection, the President particularly requested increased interest and efforts to this end on the part of the IPC. 

Mentioning the Korean people`s high interest in North Korea`s participation in the Games, President Moon asked the IPC President about the possibility of its doing so. In response, President Parsons said that the IPC also wanted the North to take part in the Winter Paralympics, noting that the Organizing Committee and his organization were making joint efforts. He went on to say that the IPC understood well that the North`s participation was crucial with regard to peace and safety as well and promised his utmost endeavors. Saying that the door for the North`s participation was open, he explained that North Korean athletes would still be able to take part in preliminary rounds to be held in the days to come for the qualifications and that the IPC was making efforts to this end. Even should they fail to qualify for the Paralympics Games, President Parsons said that he would strive to seek out other ways by engaging in discussions with international sports federations.

Finally, President Moon said North Korea’s participation would be very meaningful in that the Paralympics would become a festival of peace and that it could give assurance about the safety of the event and stir up public interest, making it a success. The President went on to say that he had one more wish for the PyeongChang Olympics and Paralympics. He expressed the hope that with a series of Olympics to be held in Korea, Japan and China every two years beginning next year, the Olympics would open a door to peace and create a turning point for harmony amid the heightening of new conflict and crisis in Northeast Asia. Then, the President said he hoped that the IPC would make concerted efforts to realize the grand dream. 

Present at the meeting were IPC CEO Xavier Gonzalez; IPC Governing Board member Kim Sung-il; Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jonghwan; President of Korea Paralympic Committee Lee Myung-ho, and President Lee Hee-beom of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.