Kim Yu-na Voted KT Person of the Year Again
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Kim Yu-na was, without question, the world's best female figure skater in 2009.
And the teenage star is also unquestionably a big favorite in the hearts of fans. For her impact on Korea and her accomplishments on the ice rink, Kim has been named The Korea Times Person of the Year for the second straight year.
Kim was selected by the editors of The Korea Times with input from a year-end online survey of readers, in which she received the most votes, ahead of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun and incumbent President Lee Myung-bak.
Among those who also received votes were U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the late former President Kim Dae-jung, singer and producer Park Jin-young, and pop diva BoA.
Alongside this, the queen of the ice was voted Person of the Year by the online readers of Job Korea, based on the votes of 1,400 adults in their 20s and 30s.
Kim was also chosen as the Korean Athlete of the Year by a whopping 82.8 percent of 1,726 respondents aged above 13 in a poll by Korea Gallup, beating out footballer Park Ji-sung and swimmer Park Tae-hwan.
After entering senior competitions in 2006, Kim quickly established herself as a big-time skater on the international stage.
She was unstoppable in 2009, performing in a league of her own, winning all the events in which she competed, including several by a very wide margin.
She got off to a good start this year, tasting her first title at the Four Continents Championships in Vancouver, Canada, in February and she was victorious at the World Championships in Los Angeles the following month.
In winning the world gold medal, Kim became the first female figure skater to crack the 200-point mark under the International Skating Union's (ISU) new scoring system with 207.71 points.
Kim began the 2009-10 season with a gold medal at the Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris, the first event of the six-leg World Grand Prix series, in October and extended her winning streak to seven at Skate America in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November.
In her first four competitions of 2009, she set new world records six times - three times in the short program, once in the free skating and twice for the combined total.
Kim easily qualified for the World Grand Prix Final ― an event she won in 2006 and 2007 ― in Tokyo, Japan and came from behind to defeat Miki Ando, whom she trailed after the short program.
As good as 2009 has been for Kim, 2010 will be the most important of her career so far.
With less than two months to go before February's Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Kim is the overwhelming favorite to win gold.
Korea has never won a gold medal at the Winter Games in a sport other than short track speed skating ― in which the nation has collected 17.
Throughout 2009, Kim showed just how big the talent gap is between her and the rest of the world. Even when Kim has a bad competition as she did at Skate America, where she made several mistakes, she still manages to win comfortably.
ISU President Ottavio Cinquanta reportedly said that Kim could win a gold medal in Vancouver using just 85 percent of her ability.
Cinquanta is not the only one making such a prediction. And Kim will be skating in Vancouver with the golden expectations of an entire nation.
"I've been putting off thinking about an Olympic gold medal," Kim told reporters at a press conference in Toronto, Canada, Saturday (KST).
"For now, I'm not feeling any pressure. I think it's part of my personality."
Off the ice, she has been elevated to rock star status, and is one of Korea's most famous celebrities both at home and abroad. She is the most sought-after sports figure in the advertising market and has appeared in several television commercials.
Also considered for the Person of the Year title was former President Roh, whose suicide on May 23 sparked a massive outpouring of grief.
Roh, who died after he threw himself off a cliff behind his rural home in South Gyengsang Province, had been under investigation for bribery involving his family members and long-time supporter Park Yeon-cha, the CEO of shoemaking firm Taekwang.
The investigation began after Roh's term as president ended in February 2008.
The Ministry of Justice closed the probe into his family hours after his death.
President Lee Myung-bak had another tough year in 2009, his second in office. The 68-year-old was slammed for his four-river restoration project and the revision of the Sejong City plan, but he also won praise for Seoul's successful bid to host the G20 Summit next November.