Culture Minister Choi to Attend Winter Olympics Opening as Korea's Government Representative

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young will represent the Korean government at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, which opens on February 6 (local time).

Minister Choi will visit Milan, Italy from February 4 to 8, attending the opening ceremony while also cheering on Korean national team athletes and inspecting on-site support operations.

Minister Choi will first visit the Winter Olympics Athletes' Village on February 5 to meet with athletes. She plans to check whether they face any difficulties in their competition preparations and offer encouragement.

She will then visit the local meal support center in Milan to inspect preparations for Korean lunch boxes delivered twice daily to the Athletes' Village.

On the same day, Minister Choi will attend the Korea House opening ceremony and meet with International Olympic Committee (IOC) members and officials from national Olympic committees of various countries.

On February 6 and 7, she will visit competition venues including the figure skating team event to cheer on athletes and meet with the Korean press corps at the Main Media Center.

On February 6, she will also attend a welcome reception for sports ministers hosted by Italy's Minister for Sport and Youth, followed by attending the Olympic opening ceremony at Milan's San Siro Stadium as part of the government delegation.

"I will visit the Olympic venue, which is a dream stage for athletes, to personally check all factors affecting performance including training environment and on-site support conditions, and provide encouragement and support," Minister Choi said. "I will provide all necessary support until the end so that athletes can fully demonstrate their abilities and safely complete the Games without injury."