Part 2 - LA84 Foundation

16. Reception and Protocol
486
performed their duties for 61 days until
October 2. The number of flights landing
at or taking off from Seoul Airport
was only 19 because the airport was
open only to exclusive flights for VIPs
in view of the airport's special location
inside an air force base. The SLOOC,
however, took careful steps to provide
flawless protocol and reception services
for arriving and departing VIPs.
In the matter of bringing in guns by
security services for Great Britain's
Princess Anne and Spain's Queen
Sophia at the Seoul Airport, the SLOOC
obtained the permission of gun carriage
through prior consultation with
relevant embassies, and the Korean
customs house helped in processing
the matter, verifying the guns against
the permits. The number of VIPs who
entered the country via Seoul Airport
was 124, while 122 VIPs departed from
the airport.
Kimhae Airport was used mostly by
those who were going to participate or
observe the Pusan yachting competition
or football preliminaries. The
reception at the airport covered 566
VIPs, 784 officials, 1,039 athletes,
644 media personnel and 412 others.
Cheju, where the Olympic flame lit in
Greece arrived to begin the torch relay
in Korea, was also a point where many
official participants and tourists were
expected to visit via the airport. To provide
reception services for them, the
SLOOC set up an Airport Reception
Unit on the third floor of the airport's
international terminal, and installed a
special lounge, guide and information
counter, and exclusive parking lot.
Inside the airport and its vicinity, a
welcoming arch, welcoming stand and
amplifiers were set up.
A total of 362 Olympic Family members
went to Cheju-do; they included
129 athletes from 23 countries, 33 officials,
15 Games-related personnel,
and 185 media personnel.
16.1.5
Operation of Port Reception Unit
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Reception preparations
For the members of the Olympic
Family and tourists entering or leaving
the country via harbors, the SLOOC
established reception counters in
Pusan and Inchon ports; the port
reception was supervised by the Port
Reception Unit.
The Port Reception Unit set the following
guidelines for its reception services:
1) to ensure convenience through
speedy processing of entry and exit
procedures for the Olympic Family,
2) to establish a command system for
speedy reception performance, 3) to
react swiftly to situations as they arose
and maintain a detailed log, 4) to
maintain a functional cooperative system
with related agencies for sufficient
reception services, and 5) to take
prompt action to handle unforeseen
situations. The Port Reception Unit
was operated from August 1 to
October 10, 1988.
Harbor reception
What was most noteworthy about the
harbor reception was the visit of a
Soviet ship, the Mikhail Sholokov, the
first such visit since the founding of
the Republic of Korea. The 12,718ton
car ferry, with 261 people aboard
including 178 crew, 27 yachting athletes
and officials and 56 tourists,
arrived at Pusan Harbor at 8: 05 a.m.
on September 3, 1988; the 27 yachting
athletes and officials disembarked,
and the Soviet ferry left the port at
4 p.m. the same day, heading for
Inchon Harbor.
The Pusan Harbor Reception Unit
sent a congratulatory radio message
of welcome when the Mikhail Sholokov
steamed past the harbor's border,
played the Soviet national anthem and
hoisted the Soviet flag when the ferry
was passing by the breakwater. When
the ferry laid anchor, the director of the
Pusan Region Maritime and Port
Administration boarded the ferry to
present a memorial plaque and gifts
honoring the port call.
At 4 p.m. on September 4, the Soviet
ferry called at Inchon Harbor. When
the ferry passed through a sluice, the
Inchon Harbor Reception Unit welcomed
the arrival by playing the Soviet
national anthem and a folk song, and
hoisting the Soviet national flag. From
7:20 p.m. to 8 p.m. the director of the
Inchon Region Maritime and Port
Administration and the skipper of the
Soviet ferry met together aboard the
ferry, discussing security and services,
opening the stage performance facilities
to the public, and presenting an
open-air performance.
While the Mikhail Sholokov was in
port, the crew and tourists enjoyed
sightseeing in Inchon city. The ferry
was lying at anchor at the port for a
month until October 5 and during this
period, Korean Olympic Committee
vice-president Kim Se-won, Inchon's
mayor and other local and foreign personalities
toured the ferry, while the
Soviet crew and tourists enjoyed sightseeing
in Inchon and Seoul and toured
major industrial facilities.
Seventy-five members of the Olympic
Family entered Korea via Pusan
Harbor, and 13 others came to Korea
via Inchon Harbor. Of the 75 who
came through Pusan Harbor, the
Soviet Union accounted for 27, Japan
for 26, the United States for 20, the
Federal Republic of Germany for one,
and Finland accounted for one. The 13
persons who entered the country
through Inchon Harbor were all
Soviets.
Of those who left the country through
harbors, Pusan Harbor accounted for
27, and Inchon for 125.
Of the tourists who reached Korea by
ship, Pusan Harbor accounted for
4,454 persons, and Inchon for 1,856.
Of the foreign vessels that called port
at Korean harbors, Japan accounted
for 12, the Soviet Union for one, Great
Britain for three, Bahamas for four, and
Greece accounted for two.
16.1.6
Operation of Situation Room
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Operation preparedness
The SLOOC established and operated
a situation room to keep track of the
arrivals and departures of the Olympic
Family members at airports and harbors,
to check for situations involving
related operations and security, and to
take whatever action was necessary to
deal with such situations, transmitting
and reporting details of given cases.
The situation room, set up at the
Reception Operation Headquarters,
was operated from August 1, 1988 to
the end of reception function. The
situation room was operated under the
following guidelines: 1) situation
rooms must also be set up at the new
terminal of the Kimpo Airport, and at
the reception centers at other airports
and harbors, 2) the operation should
be on a two-shift, 24-hour basis,
3) situation reporting should be done
regularly, as appropriate or in time of
contingency, 4) an adequate computer
network should be organized and utilized,
5) full preparedness should be
maintained to deal with accidents, and
6) a functional cooperative system
should be maintained with airportbased
agencies.
The responsibility and function of the
situation room
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Receipt, transmittal and reporting of
scheduled entrance and departure of
Olympic Family
Keeping statistical tab on the arrivals and
departures at airports and harbors
Computerized operation of matters relating
to the scheduled arrivals and
departures
Control of related administrative apparatus,
monitoring actions in progress and
forwarding related reports
Keeping track of security services, and
taking appropriate measures when
necessary
Maintaining working cooperative relationship
with related agencies based in
airports
Keeping tab on contingent situations and
taking appropriate measures
The situation room's table of organization
called for a situation section and
security section under the control of
the director; the situation room was
staffed by 88, including 68 in the situation
section and 20 in the security
section.
Operation of situation room
Except for the situation room established
at the Reception Operation
Headquarters, all of the situation
rooms were required to take action first
to deal with whatever situation arose
and to report the case afterwards.
When the situation room could do little
about a given situation, the matter was
referred to related sections and agencies
in the first place, and then
reported immediately to the situation
room at the Reception Operation
Headquarters. The information that
reached the situation room was
promptly transmitted to the related