By Lee Jin-woo and Hyun-young Yi
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak flew to Pyeongchang on Tuesday to push the mountain resort's campaign to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The resort, still shoveling its way out of the heaviest snow in years, is hoping it will be third time lucky when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meets in July to choose between Germany's Munich, France's Annecy and Pyeongchang.
"President Lee hopes to stress the need to move away from the focus on Europe and North America as hosts of the Winter Olympics," his office said in a statement.
Lee has faced weak political support from the province of Gangwon, a rugged mountain region home to Pyeongchang and other resorts, and is seen as holding a bias to the country's central region and its capital, Seoul, which he had served as mayor.
Gangwon lost a major campaigner when the country's Supreme Court upheld a guilty verdict last month against its Governor Lee Kwang-jae on bribery charges, pushing him from office.
The region was upbeat about its bid and made the point of using the heavy snowfall from the weekend to showcase how efficiently it would be able to get things done by clearing the resort grounds and access routes.
(Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Sonia Oxley)
