Kyobo head named president of Youth Games committee

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Kyobo head named president of Youth Games committee

Chairman and CEO of Kyobo Life Insurance Shin Chang-jae [KYOBO LIFE INSURANCE]

Chairman and CEO of Kyobo Life Insurance Shin Chang-jae [KYOBO LIFE INSURANCE]

 
Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman & CEO Shin Chang-jae was appointed as president of the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics organizing committee, the company announced Thursday. 
 
"Now that the Olympic spirit of ‘harmony, coexistence and globalization’ is needed more than ever, I will actively participate in [the event] to help young talents grow into the ideal global citizens from the Olympics experience,” Shin said in an inaugural speech at the Seoul Press Center on Thursday.
 
As president, Shin will preside over the organization committee until the event takes place in 2024. Former athletes such as figure skater Kim Yuna and table tennis star and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Ryu Seung-min were appointed to the organizing committee.  
 
The Youth Olympic Games is an international sports event organized by the IOC. It is held every four years, with the summer and winter games consistent with the current Olympic Games format. Only athletes aged between 14 and 18 are allowed to participate.
 
Korea was selected in January as the first non-European country to host the Games. The event will take place from Jan. 26 through Feb. 4, 2024 in Gangneung and Pyeongchang, Gangwon — the venues used for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Some 2,600 athletes from 70 different countries are expected to participate. 
 
The first Youth Olympic winter games were held in 2012 in Innsbruck, Austria. The second and third games were held each in Norway in 2016 and Switzerland this year.
 
Shin is a former doctor known for his contribution to promoting youth culture and sports activities. The insurance company has been hosting the Kyobo Life Youth Athletics Competition every year since 1985, considered the only private youth sporting event in Korea.
 
Shin is also chairman of the Daesan Foundation, an organization established by Kyobo Group to fund literary research, foster cultural exchanges and promote youth education.
 
Lee Ki-heung, the president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and Choi Moon-soon, the governor of Gangwon, were appointed as vice presidents of the committee.  
 
BY KANG JAE-EUN  [kang.jaeeun@joongang.co.kr]
 
 
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