President Lee Myung-bak stressed that PyeongChang should be developed into a tourist attraction after the 2018 Winter Olympic Games during his luncheon meeting Tuesday with the five representatives of the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the nation’s election watchdog and the Cabinet.

“We (Koreans) were less united in our first and second bids, but we were really united this time,” Lee said during the meeting with National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae, Constitutional Court president Lee Kang-kook, Supreme Court Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and National Election Commission chairperson Kim Nung-hwan.

“Seeing us unite and harmonize (for the PyeongChang bid), I felt that our national fortunes will continue to thrive.”

Lee acknowledged that the support of Chinese President Hu Jintao was a decisive factor in helping Korea gather votes from members of the International Olympic Committee.

“A Senegalese IOC member advised last year that Korea could lose in the second vote if it failed to secure votes from Asian IOC members,” Lee said.

“Thanks to President Hu’s announcement that he supports PyeongChang, I heard that Asian IOC members agreed to vote for one (candidate) this time a day head of the vote.”

Lee also explained the results of his latest tour of South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia during the meeting Tuesday.

The luncheon meeting was arranged as part of efforts to explain the direction of state affairs management and encourage social harmony and integration ahead of Liberation Day on Aug. 15, a presidential aide said.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)