Choue to stay as taekwondo chief

By Jung Min-ho

Choue Chung-won WTF President

PUEBLA, Mexico – World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) President Choue Chung-won earned his fourth term after a vote at the organization’s general assembly Monday at the Puebla Exhibition Center in Mexico.

“I’m very humbled by your overwhelming support,” Choue said. “Thank you for believing in me and what we can do together.”

Choue, who was the sole candidate for the position, will serve another four-year term. His rival Hong Moon-jong, a lawmaker from Korea’s governing Saenuri Party, dropped his candidacy earlier this month.

The 65-year-old Choue first took over as the WTF head in 2004, when then president Kim Un-yong stepped down with one year left on his term. Choue was re-elected in 2005 and again in 2009.

``I wanted to continue the voting process (despite Hong’s exit) because I wanted to know how the members think of my leadership for the past four years,” Choue told reporters after the meeting.

The voting had been initially planned to be done electronically but it was replaced by a paper vote after the counting machines stopped functioning properly due to an “excessive electrical wave,” according to a WTF official.

The IOC executive board decided on Feb. 12 to include taekwondo on the list of 25 “core” Olympic sports for the 2020 Summer Games after the WTF’s drastic reform-package for taekwondo when it was beset by judgment controversies.

Choue believes that was the WTF’s biggest accomplishment under his leadership.

He attributed the achievement to taekwondo’s successful display at the London Olympics where clothing with electronic sensors and instant video replay were introduced for the sport’s fair judgment.

“Tennis adopted instant video reply and fencing introduced clothing with electronic sensors before taekwondo. But taekwondo was the first sport to adopt both of them at the same time,” Choue said.

“Interestingly, taekwondo, which stems from ancient martial arts, has now become the most modernized sport.”

Choue said taekwondo has to be more globalized for further success as the Olympic sport.

“It is hard to find someone who practices taekwondo but knows nothing about Korean language or dislikes Korean food,” he said. “That is the evidence that our culture is transmitted by taekwondo.”

“We have to set taekwondo free so that it can prosper on the world stage. That is best for the sport’s future.”

Meanwhile, Korea National Sport University Professor Jung Kook-hyun was elected as a member of the executive committee. Another compatriot Lee Kyu-seok won his fourth term as a member.

Jung is a former athlete who won World Championship gold medals in the light middleweight and welterweight classes.