WCOC chairman Park appeals to president

Park Se-Jik, chairman of the 2002 World Cup Organizing Committee, held a hastily prepared press conference and said he would explain to President Kim Dae-Jung that he is the right person for successful hosting of the World Cup soccer games, noting that he would follow Kim`s direction if the president insisted on Park¡¯s resignation.

However, Park strongly protested that Kim, who remained calm when he was reelected last January by a landslide vote, is trying to replace him now that the general elections are over. Park contends that the position as chairman of the World Cup organizing committee requires professional qualifications rather than political considerations, adding that he is a suitable person with successfully playing host to the 1988 Summer Olympics and has been preparing for the World Cup for the past two years and two months.

Yang Jong-Koo yjongk@donga.com