The Asian Games News Service launched its news service reporters’ corps Friday.

The Asian Games News Service, or AGNS, will be operated by Herald Corp., the publisher of The Korea Herald and Herald Business, with about 120 reporters.

“This is the first time a local company is providing the news service (for an international sporting event) in Korea. Working for the AGNS will be a great opportunity for these reporters,” Herald Corp. CEO Lee Young-man said at the launch ceremony, pointing out that the news services for previous events in Korea, such as the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, were provided by foreign companies.

“The news service reporters will play a central role in making the games a success by delivering news from both inside and outside the sporting venues.”
The reporters will cover the games from Sept. 14, beginning with the qualifying rounds for soccer. The Incheon Asian Games’ official schedule runs from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.

The AGNS reporters will cover every match in the games’ 36 sporting categories, producing more than 400 flash quotes and articles each day. The reporters will also produce match previews and reviews, as well as stories of human interest that will provide leads for members of the international media covering the Incheon Asian Games on the scene.

The officials of the Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee who attended the launch ceremony emphasized the significance of the upcoming games.

“The Incheon Asian Games is in some ways the first Asian Games organized and executed by a local government,” said Son Sang-jin, chief of the organizing committee’s media affairs. He said that previous games in Doha and Guangzhou, China, were extravagant affairs that received extensive support from national governments.

“Like Seoul’s Jamsil, which was an underdeveloped area before the Seoul Olympic Games, and Busan, the games will be a crucial opportunity for Incheon to grow,” he said.

Jamsil is home to one of the largest venues for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Busan hosted the Asian Games in 2002.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)