S. Korean para Nordic skiing chief to run for IPC president

Bae Dong-hyun, head of the Korea Para Nordic Skiing Federation and chairman of the BDH Paras Foundation, announces his intention to run for International Paralympic Committee President during a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday. Yonhap

Bae Dong-hyun, head of the Korea Para Nordic Skiing Federation, will run for president of the world's top para sports body.

The Korea Paralympic Committee (KPC) announced Tuesday that Bae has been nominated as the South Korean candidate for the upcoming International Paralympic Committee (IPC) presidential election.

According to the KPC, Bae was unanimously endorsed as the nominee during the first meeting of the KPC International Relations Committee in May, and Bae sent his candidacy file to the IPC Monday morning.

The election will be held in Seoul during the Sept. 26-27 IPC General Assembly, where Bae will try to become the first South Korean president of the IPC since its foundation in 1989.

In addition to serving as head of the national para Nordic skiing body, Bae is president of Changsung Group, and chairman of the BDH Paras Foundation and the Changsung Scholarship Foundation. The BDH Paras Foundation runs a semi-pro para sports club named "BDH Paras," with athletes in Nordic skiing and shooting para sport.

"My life changed ever since I first discovered para sports in 2012," Bae said during a press conference announcing his decision Monday. "After much deliberation, I have decided to run for IPC president. I'd like to contribute to the development of international para sports."

Bae was South Korea's chef de mission at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Summer Paralympics. He counts working at the two Paralympic Games as "the most precious and happiest experience of my life."

"I was deeply moved by para sports in PyeongChang and Paris," Bae said. "I've been thinking about what I can do for para sports. I've received support from athletes and officials from all over the world."

The list of candidates will be finalized following the IPC's internal review process, and campaigning will be permitted afterward.

The IPC president will be elected by a majority vote of the IPC's 203 member organizations -- 183 national Paralympic committees, 17 international federations of para sports and three international organizations of sport for disabled people. (Yonhap)