S. Korean Olympic chief vows to address shortcomings ahead of Paris 2024

South Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung attends a victory ceremony for the men's 200-meter freestyle swimming event at the Asian Games at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 27. Yonhap

With the 19th Asian Games drawing to a conclusion, the head of the South Korean national Olympic committee said Sunday he will try to implement advanced training systems for the country's elite athletes.

At his wrap-up press conference, Lee Kee-heung, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), laid out short-term to long-term plans to address some of South Korea's shortcomings at athletic competitions.

With no more medal event scheduled Sunday, South Korea finished the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, with 42 gold medals, 59 silver medals and 89 bronze medals to rank third behind China and Japan.

The KSOC's initial target had been to win around 45 to 50 gold medals to finish in third place.

"Our athletes gave their absolute best at this competition. Athletes in archery, fencing, baseball and football in particular brought a lot of joy to our people," Lee said. "On the other hand, we struggled mightily in some ball sports and combat sports. We may have won a lot of gold medals, but a deeper look into where the medals came from will reveal clear problems."

South Korea was shut out of gold medals in wrestling and boxing, the two events where it had previously excelled. Lee said South Korea will have a lot of catching up to do, as global trends in elite sports continue to evolve.

"Countries such as Uzbekistan, India and Iran are chasing us down and they could move ahead of us in a couple of years," Lee said. "Once we return home, we'll create a new task force to analyze our problems and devise strategies for future competitions."

In particular, Lee said he will strengthen the KSOC's international operations.

South Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung speaks at a press conference in Hangzhou, China, Oct. 8. Yonhap

"We must not be stuck in our old ways of doing things. We have to change," Lee said. "We will study international cases very closely and see how our rival nations train."

Lee said he was prepared to fully embrace the emergence of non-traditional sports, such as breaking, skateboarding and video gaming, which made its Asian Games debut as "esports."

"We have to decide in which direction we have to go in the future. We must look at ourselves in the mirror and wonder if we haven't been too content to be where we are," Lee said. "Global sports trends are changing, and young athletes are now moving toward sports such as breaking and skateboarding."

Lee said time is not on the South Korean side, since the next Summer Olympics in Paris will open in just about nine months' time.

"We have to pick and choose where we want to focus on," Lee said. "We will be using data to take a scientific approach to our preparation for the Olympics."

On North Korea's presence in Hangzhou amid strained inter-Korean ties, Lee said both sides recognize the current political climate on the peninsula, far different from what it had been five years ago when the Koreas formed joint teams in multiple sports and grabbed a handful of medals under one flag.

"Sports and politics are separate matters," Lee said. "Third parties such as China and the IOC have taken interest in this situation, too. I think North Korea is also trying to determine possibilities of a breakthrough through sport exchanges. For now, we're hoping they would participate in the Winter Youth Olympics next year in South Korea." (Yonhap)