South Korea obliged to participate in 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: Presidential Secretary

Senior presidential secretary for public relations Park Soo-hyun stated that as South Korea is a previous host of the Winter Olympics, they were obliged to take a special interest in the Beijing Winter Olympics, which will start from February 2022. The secretary further stated that they will decide later whether it is acceptable for President Moon Jae-in to attend the opening ceremony. President Moon already stated that South Korea was not planning a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics in February after the US announced that they will send an official delegation due to concerns over China's human rights violations.

Park Soo-hyun stated in an interview with Yonhap News TV that the PyeongChang Winter Olympics were hosted by the South Korean government back in 2018 and because of that taking a special interest in next year's Beijing Winter Olympics is their duty and obligation as the host nation of the previous Olympics.

Talking about President Moon, he stated that at the time, they couldn't make any assumptions about whether he will be present at the event or not and that a decision will very certainly be taken at the time of the opening of the event in February, taking into account a variety of variables, according to Yonhap News.

Park expects the US to appreciate Seoul's stance as the former host nation. He also said that any choice about the Olympics will be made solely in the national interest. President Moon emphasized that South Korea intends to foster a free and open Pacific area, but that it also has to acknowledge China's role in attempting to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, according to Yonhap News. He also said that they need China's positive efforts to facilitate North Korean denuclearization and that Seoul desires a cordial relationship with Beijing.

China has warned all the countries who are considering the diplomatic boycott

After the United States announced the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 February, other allies such as the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada joined the US. According to BBC, China has warned all the countries who are considering the diplomatic boycott that they will pay the price for their boycott of the Olympics. The boycott was sparked by China's atrocities against the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, as well as its suffocation of democracy in Hong Kong.