Three South Korean Olympic skating champions were named honorary ambassadors for the 2018 Winter Olympics on their home ice Thursday.

The organizing committee for the PyeongChang Winter Games unveiled speed skaters Lee Seung-hoon, Mo Tae-bum and Park Seung-hi as new goodwill ambassadors for the first-ever Winter Olympics in South Korea.

They will be formally introduced Saturday during the celebrations of the 1,000-day countdown to the Olympics.

The organizers said they expect the three to drive up interest in winter sports as active athletes expected to compete in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul in Gangwon Province.

Lee, 27, won the gold medal in the men's 10,000 meters and added the silver in the 5,000 meters at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. The one-time short tracker also won the silver in the men's team pursuit event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Mo, 26, won the men's 500ｍ gold medal in Vancouver. He won his title ahead of Lee and became the first South Korean to win a Winter Olympic gold in a sport other than short track.

Park grabbed two gold and one bronze medals in women's short track at the 2014 Winter Games, and converted to speed skating last year. The 23-year-old made the speed skating national team in her first try last fall.

These athletes are joined by former Olympic figure skating champ Kim Yu-na, Major League Baseball outfielder Choo Shin-soo and American Olympic ski gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, among others. (Yonhap)