Invest KOREA

South Korea won the right to host a global multi-sport event for military athletes in 2015, military officials said Friday.

   The International Military Sports Council (CISM), the Brussels-based organizer for the event, will make an official announcement that the South Korean city of Mungyeong has been selected as the host city for the 2015 games when the council holds its General Assembly meeting in Seoul next week, officials said.

   "The CISM will officially announce Mungyeong as the host city for the 2015 Military World Games on Thursday," Maj. Lee Seong-jin, a spokesman at Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps, told reporters.

   Since 1995, the military games have been held every four years to encourage military sports and boost friendly relations among the world's armed forces.

   Mungyeong, a mountainous city about 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul, made the sole bid to host the 2015 games, Lee said.

   The games include taekwondo, judo, boxing, football, modern pentathlon and equestrian as well as military sports such as shooting and parachuting.

   The 2015 Military World Games are expected to bring together about 10,000 military personnel from some 110 countries, ministry officials said.

Source: Yonhap News (May 6, 2011)