Sports diplomat counts on new Korean IOC member candidacy

By Baek Byung-yeul

The 2016 Summer Olympics are upon us but there’s another global sports issue ― selecting new International Olympic Committee (IOC) members.

Before the Summer Olympics kick off in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 5 (local time), the 129th IOC Session will be held in Rio on Aug. 2 to 4. There, the executive board of the IOC will propose eight new members for election. Also, during the Olympics period, athletes competing in the Olympics can cast their ballots to name four new IOC members.

South Korea currently has two IOC members ― Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee who’s been hospitalized for years and Moon Dae-sung ― in the IOC Athletes’ Commission. As the terms of four members in the IOC Athletes’ Commission, including Moon’s, will expire after the Rio Games, the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) nominated former Olympic table tennis champion Ryu Seung-min as the sole candidate last year to fill in one of the four seats.

Yoon Kang-ro, president of International Sport Diplomacy Institute, said he looks forward Ryu becoming a new Korean IOC member replacing Moon in light of the fact that the next three Olympics following the Rio Games will take place in East Asian countries.

“Frankly, it will be a tough campaign for Ryu as table tennis is a lesser-known sport and many of them will probably think of Ryu as a Chinese player because of China’s strong performance in the sport. To be included in the top four, he needs to appeal his strength that the next three Olympics after the Rio Olympics will take place in East Asian countries. He needs to promote that he can help athletes feel comfortable in PyeongChang, Tokyo and Beijing as an Asian,” Yoon said in an interview, Tuesday.

The IOC announced 24 candidates will compete for four seats in the Athletes’ Commission last year, but currently there are a total of 23 candidates after Italy’s Alessandra Sensini recently withdrew. The vote for the four new members began on Sunday and will be held until Aug. 17. The results are set to be announced on Aug. 18 in the Olympic Village.

Explaining the role of an IOC member, the sports diplomat also emphasized that Ryu needs to set up a “clever” marketing strategy.

“Once you become an IOC member, you can cast your ballot to choose where to hold the next Olympics and IOC meetings. Also, they make a decision to include or exclude which sports events will be held at the Olympics,” Yoon said.

“Ryu should know he can develop his country’s sports into bigger industries. Korea is one of the world’s well-known countries and will host the following Winter Olympics. He needs to take advantage of that.”