Sergey Bubka, Ukraine NOC President, met recently appointed Ambassador of Korea Mr Sul Kyung Hoon on Thursday, July 10th, in the NOC Headquarters in Kyiv. Ukraine NOC Head of Office Mr Juri Tamm and Korea Vice-Consul Mr Park Seong-ho participated as well.

The Ambassador and the President discussed the traditions and possibilities of cooperation between two countries in the area of sport and promotion of the healthy lifestyle, as well as the preparation of PyeongChang for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Bubka informed his guests about the projects and activities carried out by the NOC mentioning the support provided by the Korean giant Samsung Electronics as a sponsor of the International Olympic Committee and a partner of the Ukraine NOC. Bubka also addressed Mr Sul with a request to assist to involve Korean companies in cooperation and so needed now support of sport in Ukraine.

Ambassador Sul Kyung Hoon mentioned that it was a great honour for him to work in Ukraine and meet Sergey Bubka. He said, 'Korea and Ukraine have so much in common. We need to further our cooperation including sport area. Korea is ready to share its experience and knowledge in sport and Olympic movement'.

Sergey Bubka who is also an IOC EB member and IAAF Vice President relived his memories of Korea where he won his Olympic Gold medal in 1988. He commented, 'Both Ukraine and Korea are very sportive countries. Your country has great experience of hosting major international competitions. I know about your knowledge in organization of sport events from my own experience of 2011 when I've chaired an IAAF Coordination Commission for the Athletics World Championships in Daegu'.

The participants came to an agreement that the cooperation between the Korean Embassy and the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine would be extended by both sides.