Choi Hong-hoon, new president of Korea Ski Snowboard Association / Courtesy of Korea Ski Snowboard Association

The newly elected head of the national skiing governing body will lead the Korean delegation to the upcoming Asian Winter Games.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) annouTuesday that Choi Hong-hoon will serve as South Korea's chef de mission for the Feb. 7-14 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China.

Choi was named head of the Korea Ski Snowboard Association earlier Tuesday.

Choi, 62, has previously worked as CEO of Lotte World. Lotte Group, one of Korea's biggest conglomerates, has been running the skiing federation for over a decade, with its chairman, Shin Dong-bin, having been in charge from 2014 to 2018.

The KSOC will host the team launch ceremony for the Asian Winter Games on Friday. It will be the ninth edition of the regional competition, and the first since the Japanese city of Sapporo hosted it in 2017.

Korea will send some 200 athletes in all six sports. Korea finished second overall to Japan with its Asian Winter Games record of 16 gold medals in 2017. (Yonhap)