Koreans Promise Olympic Torch Won’t Be ‘Sold’

The Greek Olympic Committee said today that it has won an assurance from the South Koreans, hosts of the 1988 Summer Olympics, that the Olympic flame will not be used to raise money.

The lighting of the flame for the 1984 Olympics was almost cancelled after the committee denounced as commercialism a relay of the flame from New York to Los Angeles in which individuals or firms could “buy” parts of the route by giving money to charity.

Officials said that in talks here between committee member Lambis Nikolaou and South Korean official Shi Gon Kim, it was agreed that the flame should be lighted in the village of Ancient Olympia, site of the games in antiquity, on Sept. 5, 1988.

Runners will relay it to Athens, where it will be handed over to the Koreans on Sept. 7. It has not yet been decided how the flame will be conveyed to Seoul.