Minister Yoon In-chon Encourages Athletes at the Winter Asian Games Venue

Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will visit Harbin, China from the 6th to the 9th as a government representative to attend the '2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games.' Minister Yoo plans to attend the opening ceremony on the 7th and the banquet hosted by the Chinese government before the ceremony, as well as visit the competition sites to cheer on the Korean national team athletes.

Minister Yoo arrived in Harbin on the 6th and visited the Winter Asian Games 'main athletes' village.' He met with the athletes to hear their opinions on any difficulties in preparing for the event and encouraged them to perform without regrets at the Winter Asian Games, held for the first time in eight years. He also expressed his support to the support staff working hard on-site to assist the Korean team’s participation in the games. On the same day, he visited the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall, viewed the exhibition, and laid flowers at the statue of Ahn Jung-geun.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon visited the athletes' village of the 9th Harbin Winter Asian Games, set up at the Victories Hotel in Harbin, China, on the 6th (local time), and encouraged national curling representatives Lee Jae-beom (left) and Kim Eun-ji (right), taking a commemorative photo together.
Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

On the 8th, Minister Yoo will visit the competition sites to cheer on the athletes during the short track finals (mixed relay, men’s and women’s 1500m) and the speed skating finals (men’s and women’s 1500m).

He will also encourage the Korean press corps staying in Harbin to cover the Winter Asian Games. On the 8th, he plans to visit the main media center to meet with the journalists who are working hard to vividly report on the athletes’ sweat and efforts despite the cold weather and express his gratitude.

Furthermore, he will continue international sports exchanges. On the 8th, he will meet with Yoo Seung-min, Vice Chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) International Committee and President-elect of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, and Kim Jae-yeol, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and President of the International Skating Union, to discuss key issues in international sports. On the 9th, he will meet Gao Zudan, Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, to wish for the successful hosting of the games and explore ways to expand sports exchanges between Korea and China.

Minister Yoo In-chon stated, "I am well aware of the efforts of our athletes who have silently trained for a long time and the hard work of the support staff who are striving for the team’s participation in the games. I will actively move around the event sites to cheer on our athletes so that they can fully demonstrate the skills they have prepared and safely complete the competition without injury."