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Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon is shown in a childhood photo from Feb. 1969. Cho was a talented speed skater in elementary school. (provided by Unification Ministry)
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Inter-Korean talks scheduled to begin at 10 am on Jan. 9
On Jan. 8, just one day before the first high-level inter-Korean talks in over two years, South Koreans learned that Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, the government’s top negotiator at the talks, used to be a speed skater. The Unification Ministry released a black-and-white photograph that had been taken 49 years ago, back when Cho was a sprint speed skater in elementary school. While attending Joongang Elementary School in the city of Uijeongbu from the third to the sixth grade, he took home the gold medal in several speed skating tournaments in Gyeonggi Province. He also competed on the national level, but there are no records of him winning a prize there. In related news, the inter-Korean talks are slated to start at 10 am on Jan. 9. “The talks on Jan. 9 will begin with a plenary session at 10 am. We’re preparing [for the talks] by focusing on what we proposed to North Korea for the ‘peace Olympics’ and on discussing the North’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and Paralympics,” said Baek Tae-hyeon, spokesperson for the Unification Ministry, during the daily briefing on Jan. 8. Cho’s childhood photograph appears to reflect the Ministry’s hopes that the inter-Korean talks will help keep the peace during the Olympics. Going back to the topic of speed skating, a former Japanese speed skater for the national team became a politician and government official. Seiko Hashimoto, who won the bronze medal in the 1,500m figure skating event in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, became a member of the House of Councilors for the Liberal Democratic Party after retiring from sports. She also served as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Taro Aso from 2008 to 2009. By Lee Seung-jun, staff reporter Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
