Games-South Korea team condemn Asian Games organisers over logistical 'shortcomings'

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept 22 : South Korea's Chef de Mission Lee Sang-hyun criticized Asian Games organisers on Tuesday for logistical failures that had inconvenienced athletes and said concrete measures must be taken to ensure the problems are not repeated.

Lee told Reuters his delegation had requested a meeting with senior Games officials and wanted a formal apology "at a higher level" after South Korean athletes were affected by transport and accommodation issues at the event in Japan.

"I hope the organising committee and the OCA (Olympic Council of Asia) will give these issues greater attention," he said at Korea House, the team's hospitality hub in Nagoya.

"More than simply apologising, I believe it is important for them to come up with concrete measures to prevent these problems from happening again and put those measures into practice.

"However, they have not yet provided us with any concrete plans for how they intend to improve things going forward."

The OCA, which governs the quadrennial Asian Games, did not provide immediate comment.

To reduce costs, local organisers have accommodated athletes and officials in a mix of hotels, temporary wooden containers and a cruise ship rather than build a traditional Games village. 

South Korea moved their men's basketball team out of their container units at Garden Pier and into hotels because they said the beds were too short and after one of the units flooded during heavy rain.

Lee said the containers were "extremely cramped" for the basketball players and that administrative confusion on the cruise ship over bookings and room assignments had inconvenienced athletes.

"So our delegation has been making a great deal of effort to find alternative accommodations outside the official