The Olympic torch arrived in South Korea on Monday from Japan as part of the flame’s voyage through the world’s five continents ahead of the Athens Olympics in August.
The torch was taken directly to Olympic Park in eastern Seoul following its arrival aboard a chartered jet at Inchon International airport for a 48km relay through the streets of the South Korean capital.
Korean Olympic Committee chairperson Lee Yun-Taek will be the first of more than 100 relay runners.
Others are South Korean sports and entertainment luminaries including Olympic gold-medallist marathoner Hwang Young-Cho, archer Kim Su-Nyeong and wrestler Shim Gwon-Ho.
A ceremony celebrating the Olympic movement will be held later in the day in the centre of Seoul, which hosted the 1988 Olympics.
The Seoul stopover is the third leg of the six-week, five-continent relay. The next stop is Beijing, which is to host the 2008 Olympics.
The torch then moves on to India and winds through Africa, the Americas and Europe before returning to Greece in the countdown to the lighting of the flame in the Olympic cauldron in Athens on August 13. — Sapa-AFP