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Seoul submits budget plan for co-hosting 2032 Games with Pyongyang

By Wooyoung Lee
North Korean cheerleaders hold the "unified Korea" flag during the Summer Universiade 2003 in Daegu, southeastern South Korea. Photo by Yonhap/EPA-EFE
North Korean cheerleaders hold the "unified Korea" flag during the Summer Universiade 2003 in Daegu, southeastern South Korea. Photo by Yonhap/EPA-EFE

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government has proposed a draft plan to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics with the North Korean capital to the city council, South Korean media reported.

The city government submitted a motion to the city council detailing its budget plan, according to Yonhap News.

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The plan states that South Korea will need to spend more than $3.4 billion for managing games for 33 official Summer Olympics sports in Seoul, Pyongyang and other cities, from July to August in 2032.

The budget plan only includes expenses for South Korea to pay for organizing opening and closing ceremonies, operation and management for stadiums and games while excluding infrastructure construction.

A city official said in the Yonhap News report that it is the first time that the city government has calculated such estimated costs.

South Korea hosted the 2018 Winter Games in February, which required some $12 billion budget. Of them, $10 billion was used for building new infrastructure.

The draft plan also included a proposal to organize opening and closing ceremonies that will be simultaneously conducted in Seoul and Pyongyang.

"If there is a high-speed network built in the North by 2032, we will be able to hold opening and closing ceremonies simultaneously using the Internet network and broadcast live," an official was quoted as saying in the Yonhap News report.

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to make a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Games, at a summit in September.

North and South Korea have used sports events to gain momentum for easing tensions. South Korea invited North Korea to attend the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February, which created a breakthrough for a change in the hostile relationship between two countries.

In September, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee to discuss co-hosting the 2032 Olympic Games with North Korea.

The IOC has welcomed the two Korea's proposal as a joint bid.

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