A Study on Terror Activities in International Sports Events

Abstract

Korea has successfully hosted international sports events such as the 1986 Asian Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and the 2002 World Cup. On August 27, 2011, the World Championships in Athletics were held in Daegu, and by hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, it became the fifth country in the world to host all four major international sports events after France, Germany, Italy and Japan. However, it should be recognized that the threat of terror activities exists behind the hosting of international sporting events. The representative terror activities in relation to international sports events in the international community include the terror activities of hostage, kidnapping, and killing by the Black September Team under the Palestine Liberation Organization targeting Israeli athletes and officials at the Munich Olympics on September 5, 1972, a bombing attack that took place at Gimpo International Airport on September 14, 1986, a week before the Asian Games in Seoul, Korea, and the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 over Andaman, Myanmar on November 29, 1987 to obstruct the 1988 Seoul Olympics, etc. This study aims to analyze cases of terror activities that occurred in relation to international sports events held in Korea, and at the same time forecast possible terror activities as a means to prevent or obstruct the holding of international sports events.