S. Korea optimistic about IOC evaluation

South Korea said on Thursday that it was optimistic about its bid for the 2018 winter Olympics as an International Olympic Committee team weighed up Pyeongchang as a possible venue.

"I believe we can make it if we work harder," Lee Kun-Hee, head of the country's top conglomerate Samsung, told reporters before hosting a lunch for the IOC inspectors.

Lee, an IOC member, has been staying in the eastern alpine resort since the 14-member team began its four-day evaluation Wednesday.

Pyeongchang is making its third bid for the games after losing out to Vancouver for the 2010 event and to Russia's Sochi for 2014.

The resort, 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of Seoul, is competing this time against Annecy in France and Germany's Munich. The winner will be announced at the IOC General Assembly in Durban on July 6.

Lee, quoted by Yonhap news agency, said the IOC visitors showed a better response to Pyeongchang's bid than when it made its last presentation in 2007.

The tycoon had given up his IOC rights following a conviction for tax evasion. But he received a presidential pardon in December 2009 so he could resume IOC membership and help Pyeongchang's bid.

South Korean officials expressed satisfaction after giving more than eight hours of presentations to IOC inspectors on Wednesday.

"Pyeongchang's bid is not just our aspiration. It will help the dreams of Asia, Africa and other developing regions come true," said Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choung Byoung-Gug.

Bid committee officials hope Pyeongchang's programme to train young winter sports hopefuls from poor countries would gain good marks from IOC members.

They reportedly told the IOC team that Pyeongchang had lived up to its earlier commitments to the IOC by building more new facilities.

Pyeongchang has invested more than $1.5 billion to build facilities including Alpensia, the main venue with ski slopes, hotels, restaurants, golf courses and a convention centre.

Alpensia will host events such as the ski jump, cross country and biathlon, while the nearby city of Gangneung will be home to skating and hockey.

Seven out of the 13 necessary sites are already in place, with all venues accessible by bus within 30 minutes of each other.

Bidding committee chief Cho Yang-Ho said Wednesday that presenters tried to build Pyeongchang's case on helping promote winter sports across Asia and offering a compact, athlete-friendly Olympics.

"Everyone involved in bidding gave their best to explain Pyeongchang's strengths and I am satisfied with the effort," he said.

Pyeongchang is "more ready than ever" and has emerged as Asia's centre for winter sports, he said.

On Thursday the IOC scrutinised a ski jump hill at Alpensia that features a main stand and will become the venue for opening and closing ceremonies, as well as other facilities.

South Korea is energetically pursuing a third world sporting event after staging the 1988 Summer Olympics and co-hosting the 2002 football World Cup with Japan. It says it is time the winter Games came back to Asia.

The continent has hosted the event only twice, both times in Japan -- at Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.