Miracle Smashing Yoo Seung Min, president-elect of the Korea Sports Council, will become a hard worker who works well for athletes

Jan 16, 2025

Yonhap News

The new sports president 'Miracle Man' Yoo Seung Min President-elect (42) said, `I will make a miracle that changes sports in Korea" he expressed his bold ambition.

At the press conference for the election of the 42nd Chairman of the Korea Sports Council ' held at Fraser Place Central in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on the 16th, Yoo said, `I am not actually happy. There is a real heavy responsibility. Before coming here, I met with Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran to talk. It was a time to think a lot about how difficult the reality of the sports world is. I'll be interested in what kind of leader I'll be, but I think the processes I've lived so far should be more two to three times more authentic in the future. There are great sports association presidents of all time, but the idea of becoming the most diligent worker beyond what they have brought remains unchanged. Scold me badly when I'm not good enough, and if I show myself complacent because something went well, call me right away and whip me. I hope you highlight the parts that you did well," he said.

Yu, who earned the nickname 'Hardwalker' by IOC President Thomas Bach, said "The KOC is more difficult than ever. It is under investigation, and 100 billion won in the budget has been cut. You have to lead the sports association in a difficult situation. The COVID-19 pandemic broke out when he was the president of the Korea Table Tennis Association in 2020, and the World Table Tennis Championships were postponed. People around me used the expression `the chairman who works really hard but has no luck'\`I want to be recognized by the Korea Sports Association as a good chairman. I want to be a hard worker that sportsmen remember rather than a 'authoritative chairman, a weighty chairman'. I want to be evaluated for doing my best for sportsmen."

On the 14th, candidate No. 3 Yoo Seung Min of the 42nd Korean Sports Council election and symbol is on the stage to greet at Olympic Hall in Olympic Park, Seoul. Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2025.1.14/

photo courtesy of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Yoo was elected with the most votes (34.4%) of 417 out of 1,209 votes (three invalid votes) among 2,244 electors in the 42nd presidential election held at Olympic Hall in Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 14th. He finally won after competing with Lee Ki-heung, former chairman of the Korea Sports Council (379 votes, 31.3%) and Kang Tae-sun, chairman of the Seoul Sports Council and BYN Black Yak Group (216 votes, 17.8%). Former chairman Lee Ki-heung, whose bid for a third term failed, reportedly briefly said 'Get cut~' in his unique savvy tone during a phone call with Yoo.

Yoo confessed that he was a little nervous on the day of the election, but he was able to move the minds of athletes with sincerity. He used the expression `unexpected' a lot in the media. Elections seem to be similar to sports in that unpredictable upsets can be made"Of the miracles I wrote, Wang Hao, who clashed in the final of the 2004 Athens Olympics, was the strongest, but this election period was the hardest." When playing as a player, regret usually remains like 'I should have practiced more before the competition. However, I watched a YouTube video while waiting for more than 3 hours in the waiting room after the announcement of this political opinion. I wasn't nervous. "Because I poured everything I could into it..." I looked back on the moment before the vote count. He was congratulated only for reaching the final when he reached the final at the Athens Olympics. It was the same when he was a member of the IOC Athletes Commission. In the end, I think the sincerity worked." During the election, Yoo opened the hearts of athletes by testing all 68 sports events himself. Sepak Takraw was the hardest.

The term of office of the chairman of the Korean Sports Council will be four years from the 28th. During this period, large sports events such as the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina D'Ampezzo, the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games, and the 2028 LA Olympics will be held. It is a new challenge for Yoo, who participated in the 2004 Athens Olympics as a men's table tennis player and won the gold medal around his neck, and was elected as an IOC athlete in 2016 and worked on the international stage.

Yoo Seung Min, former president of the Korea Table Tennis Association, poses before an interview with Sports Chosun at a private office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2024.12.11/

Prior to that, there were a number of challenges to be solved, such as improving the relationship between the Korean Sports Council and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and boosting the morale of the employees of the Korean Sports Council. During the election campaign, Yoo pledged to build an advanced sports infrastructure through the specialization of daily sports, K-sports centered on global sports, and improve self-sustainability through the establishment of a revenue platform for the Korea Sports Association. He sympathized with Minister Yoo In-chon and my pledge. In particular, he sympathized a lot with the pledges on school sports and local sports. We talked about the hard work and symbolism related to retired players. After the audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection, I think it is necessary to create a positive campaign for sportsmen to approach by reflecting on the spirit of sportsmanship. The value and content of physical education are endless."

Yoo received congratulatory messages from political and sports figures. "Because I am from Gyeonggi Province, I will be weak in corporate sponsorship, there may be concerns that the network will be weak, but the KOC is not run by me alone. It runs with passionate sportsmen. They are already starting their activities. They are talking about sponsorship to businessmen, and they are doing business with politicians saying, 'Help Korea's physical education stand tall around the world" he said.

Since the 2024 Paris Olympics, various incidents have led to a drop in morale among Korean sports officials. Yoo said, `We haven't finished understanding our internal affairs yet. I can get ahead of speaking as an elected person, but I hope there will be various voices. I'm not the center of my voice just because I'm the chairman, but I'm going to listen to policy ideas regardless of whether I'm an intern or not. Members should be able to come up with a variety of ideas"It is urgent to make changes on your own. If we don't create a culture where each and every member of the sports association is passionate, we may miss a valuable opportunity for the sports community to change again." In addition, "If there is anything that needs to be improved to create a wonderful value of sports that can meet the expectations of the people, we will make intensive reforms at a rapid pace."

Yoo also stressed that he will focus his efforts on communicating with the people through the opening of the Jincheon National Training Center, strengthening the development of elite athletes looking forward to the future, and revitalizing collapsed school sports.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.