Seoul mayor offers cooperation on North Jeolla’s 2036 Olympic bid

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said at a press conference in Seoul on October 7, 2026, that he would accept a proposal to co-host the 2036 Summer Olympics with North Jeolla, South Korea’s domestic candidate. His remarks offer cooperation between the former bidding rivals as the province confronts infrastructure constraints, but do not establish an agreed hosting plan.

“Whatever form of proposal North Jeolla may make, it would essentially amount to co-hosting. I intend to accept it,” Oh said, according to Yonhap’s report. He said he did not intend to raise objections or make specific changes a condition of proceeding.

What Seoul and North Jeolla have discussed

North Jeolla Governor Lee Won-taeg met Oh at Seoul City Hall on September 7 to propose joint hosting, Yonhap reported. That approach preceded the mayor’s latest remarks, but Oh said a practical proposal was still missing, making it difficult for Seoul’s government to formulate a position.

Yonhap reported that North Jeolla had shifted toward shared hosting after concluding that accommodation, transport and stadium shortcomings made staging the Games alone difficult. The report did not quantify those gaps or set out the investment needed to address them.

Transport was a particular concern for Oh. He questioned whether the International Olympic Committee would favor an Olympics requiring what he described as a two- to three-hour round trip between Seoul and Jeonju, one of North Jeolla’s major cities.

Oh argued that the IOC would focus on minimizing costs and inconvenience. Both that interpretation and the journey estimate were the mayor’s assessments; Yonhap’s report did not establish an IOC objection to the proposed arrangement.

How North Jeolla won South Korea’s nomination

North Jeolla defeated Seoul in the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee’s domestic selection on February 28, 2025. It received 49 of the 61 ballots, against 11 for Seoul, with one invalid vote, according to Cho Jung-woo’s reporting for the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Oh and then-governor Kim Kwan-young presented their cases before the vote, followed by a question-and-answer session. The province’s selection made it South Korea’s candidate for an international bid; it was not an award of the Olympics. South Korea last staged the Summer Games in Seoul in 1988.

The province’s case emphasized regional balance and cooperation among cities. By the time of the 2025 selection, it had secured permission to use five stadiums across Gwangju, Daegu, Goheung, Hongseong and Cheongju. Its proposal therefore already contemplated venues beyond North Jeolla.

According to provincial-government information cited by the newspaper, North Jeolla had worked on its bid since June 2023, including feasibility studies. After losing the domestic vote, Seoul pledged to support the province through its IOC contacts. Oh’s latest willingness to share hosting follows that earlier offer of support for the international campaign.

How shared hosting fits the Olympic framework

Shared hosting has a basis in the Olympic selection framework. In guidance published in July 2023, the Japanese Olympic Committee explained that reforms introduced in 2019 allowed hosts to comprise multiple cities, regions or countries, rather than requiring a single city.

That guidance described “continuous dialogue” as a noncommittal stage exploring sustainable hosting in line with a region’s long-term development goals. It need not concern a particular edition of the Games. The IOC executive board could then initiate targeted dialogue with preferred hosts on the Future Host Commission’s recommendation.

Targeted dialogue concerned a specific edition and required detailed responses and guarantees, including governmental guarantees. The commission would evaluate plans, with possible visits, before the executive board could propose hosts to the IOC Session when requirements were met. This historical guidance does not establish the Korean bid’s current stage.

What remains unresolved in the joint proposal

Oh asked the central government to develop a structured proposal for North Jeolla after considering whether the IOC would approve shared hosting. Yonhap reported no deadline for that step, finalized venue map, shared budget, funding commitments or signed agreement. The confirmed change is Seoul’s stated willingness to cooperate; the practical terms and any IOC decision on the arrangement remain unestablished.