SOUTH Korea’s largest environmental group, Green Korea, is attempting to halt construction of the Olympic downhill course on Mt. Gaiwang, according to the Korea Times.

The group is urging the PyeongChang Winter Olympics organising committee to use an existing run instead.

The organising committee say a new run must be built to meet IOC rules for the downhill as these state the run must have an 800m vertical. However the environmentalists point to a ‘special circumstances’ section of the rules which says a slope can be have a 750m vertical in “exceptional circumstances”  which would allow an existing run at the existing Yongpyong Ski Resort to be used for the downhill.

Mt. Gariwang is reported to be of high ecological value and environmental activists have voiced opposition to the plan since 2011 says the Korea Times, saying cutting down trees on the mountain for a week-long ski event was a “dangerous trade-off.”

The Korean Forestry Service originally listed the mountain as a site for the “protection of flora genes and forest eco-systems,” with Korea’s unique native Wangsasure trees (a type of Aspen) growing there, but the government body has recently removed Mt. Gariwang from the list and approved  resort construction, said the paper.

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