Jin, 43, is the only Olympic shooting athlete to have four gold medals and is tied with archer Kim Soo-Nyung for the most Olympic medals in South Korean history with six.

"This was an excellent opportunity to inspire the hopes and dreams of young athletes," Jin, who is the only Olympic athlete to win an event three straight times, having won the 50 metres pistol from 2008 to 2016, was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency. 

"Given my Olympic experience, I felt I could be a leader for them."

Jin is from Chuncheon, which is the capital of Gangwon Province.

He believes that his summer sports background will be helpful despite this being a winter event.

Lee, 33, is a two-time winner of the 500m speed skating event, with victories at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014, followed by a second-place finish at Pyeonghchang 2018.

"I never had a chance to compete at a Youth Olympics, and I have thought about how great it would have been if I had done that," Lee, who is also a sprint and single distance world champion, told Yonhap.

"Before they get to the Olympics, participating at a Youth Olympics will be an important stepping stone."

Lee denied that she rejected the offer to be head before finally agreeing, as she valued the importance of the youth experiencing such a massive event.

The two co-heads will be joined by the 2010 women's singles figure skating champion Kim Yu-Na, who will serve as an honorary ambassador, and two vice-chairs, who will be Ryu Seung-Min, the Athens 2004 table tennis gold medallist, and You Byong-Jin, vice-president of the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee.

Gangwon 2024 is scheduled to be held from January 19 to February 1, with almost 2,000 athletes from 70 different countries competing in 15 events for a chance to win 81 gold medals.