Talking about the age of candidates for Yoo Seung Min = We need a chairman who is good at penetrating the old era, the changed world, and the latest trends

Dec 30, 2024

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/

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

The life of Yoo Seung Min (42, former IOC member, former president of the Korea Table Tennis Association), who ran for the 42nd president of the Korea Sports Council, has been a history of endless challenges. He was selected as the youngest national table tennis player at the age of 14 and qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics at the age of 18 when he was a high school student. In the men's singles final at the 2004 Athens Olympics, he beat China's Wang Hao to give a gold medal to Korean table tennis for the first time in 16 years. Following the bronze medal in the team event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he won the silver medal in the team event at the 2012 London Olympics, burning the last flame. He was elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) athlete committee at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he was on the coach's path, and led the association for five years as the president of the Korea Table Tennis Association from 2019. Candidate Yoo, who has just passed his invincibility, challenged the president of the Korea Sports Council.

'What is a challenge for a Yoo Seung Min?' It was the first question I asked candidate Yoo, who sat face to face. without hesitation came the answer "Dormant". Candidate Yoo retired as an athlete and raised Choi Hyo-joo as a leader in the Samsung Life Women's Table Tennis Team, and accidentally changed his mind during an interview and became a member of the IOC Athletes Commission. After serving as vice chairman of the Korea Table Tennis Association, Chairman Cho Yang-ho suddenly passed away and took over as chairman of the association. 'I'm an icon of challenge, so I'm going to challenge myself to this position from the beginning.' I made up my minddo one's best every moment of the dayAs it turns out, an opportunity has come to me like fate.' Candidate Yoo's lifetime motto is 'One more!', only those who are ready to take a chance'

It is in a similar context to run for the next president of the Korea Sports Council. Candidate Yoo, who recently met with Sports Chosun alone, said, "It is a time for the sports world to change." Since I gained administrative experience and blossomed the flower of my administrative experience at the Busan World Table Tennis Championships, I was advised that now I need to challenge the president of the Korean Sports Council. Some people were worried about why they were trying to go on a difficult path. Why do you want to come forward when you're in a restless situation. Let's wait and see. But because it is a difficult road, I decided to challenge myself. If I'm difficult, the scene is more difficult. I thought someone should step up and do something. It is a dereliction of duty to ignore the way the sportsmen around me are struggling. I wanted to make the players, leaders, and parents in the field not lonely. The Harbin Winter Asian Games will be held in February next year due to too many issues. We should also be interested in such winter sports." Candidate Yoo asked me what kind of IOC member I wanted to be as an IOC member for the first time, so I said I wanted to be evaluated as a good IOC member after my term ends. That was the pledge, and I think I achieved the pledge. IOC President Bach acknowledged 'hard worker' at the last general meeting of the Paris Olympics. Whether it's the president of the Korean Sports Council or the president of the Korea Table Tennis Association, it's a place to work after all. It's not a position to enjoy,' he said. "I think the former presidents have made a great achievement. It is right for sportsmen to respect that. But if you ask why the president of the Korea Sports Council should be a Yoo Seung Min now, I would say that times have changed. These days, children are bored even with 15-second videos. The athletes themselves should think about whether traditions, regulations, and such leadership are right,' he claimed.

Candidate Yoo had the experience of being elected in the 2016 IOC Athletes' Commission election with a probability of 'needle hole'. I know better than anyone how hard an election is and how hard it is to win votes. The election will be contested by six people, including Lee Ki-heung, current chairman of the Korea Sports Council, Kim Yong-joo, former secretary-general of the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Sports Council, Kang Tae-sun, chairman of the Seoul Sports Council, Oh Joo-young, president of the Korea Sepak Takraw Association, and Kang Shin-wook, emeritus professor of Dankook University. Candidate Yoo said "There is some data when he participates in the competition as an athlete. But there is no data in the election. It's all about winning hearts. The votes will be dispersed due to the large number of competitors, but what is clear is that the sports world needs to change. Look at the detailed events newly selected for the Olympics. Skateboarding, breaking, and sports climbing have already come by our side. That's how loud the voice of the times is. There are two topics that the IOC raised last year: artificial intelligence (AI) and e-sports. We need to be more active in responding to changes and creating a sports culture led by sportsmen themselves," he stressed.

Candidate Yoo's pledges include 'shared growth by securing the independence of local sports associations and sports';'introduction of a player & leader care system';' school sports revitalization project';'Building advanced sports infrastructure through specialization of daily sports';'Global-Centered K-Sports';'Improving self-sustainability through the establishment of a revenue platform of the Korea Sports Association'. Candidate Yoo emphasized the financial independence of the local sports association. "The IOC's four-year budget is 10 trillion won. 90% of them are spent on 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), 35 Olympic organizations, athletes, leaders, refugees, and the remaining 10% is spent on IOC administrative expenses. It is a budget secured through broadcast rights, sponsorships, and Olympic Solidarity Fund through Olympic channels. Currently, the Korean Sports Council spends 450 billion won a year, but 228 city, county and district sports councils do not receive national player subsidies and secretariat operation subsidies. The recently confirmed salary of a high school table tennis coach is around 2 million won, and the minimum salary is less than 2 million won. "If I'm elected, I'll go directly to the top 30 companies in Korea and make a presentation. As part of the designated donation, I will use it as a player, leader, or designation of a specific event, so I will ask for your support. If you make one billion, it's 30 billion. If its own budget is about 100 billion won, it can support the local sports association's structural problems such as sports, athletes, and leaders." Then "If the IOC has an Olympics, the Korean Sports Council has the National Sports Festival and the Sports Festival for All." There is Korea Sports Council TV, and there is a sponsor. You can clearly commercialize it and maximize profits. The proceeds should be distributed to the host city and to the events. It means that we need to create a profit structure. "Rather than bumping into the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as it is now, we need to communicate in a horizontal relationship and make sure to give and take a sustainable model." The government's budget can be used for essential projects such as sports for the elderly and school sports. Since I've seen such a model for eight years at the IOC, I'm confident of creating an environment where I can stand on my own, self-sustaining, and lead myself. So challenging" he said emphatically.

Candidate Yoo Seung Min's 'Lethal Weapon', what is Yoo Seungmin's competitiveness? Candidate Yoo can play all events directly from the game. I have a high understanding of the sport. Ahead of the election, I experienced almost all the events myself and filmed a video of each event 'customized'. My competitiveness is to have a microscope-like mind that can look into such reality in detail. It also has international competitiveness through eight years of experience as an IOC member. There are not many people other than the working-level staff of the Korean Olympic Committee who know in detail which events will become new to the Olympics and which events will be approved to the IOC through what procedures. I worked tirelessly in seven subcommittees, including the Olympic Program Committee."

When asked about some prejudices against the 'young chairman', he laughed, saying, `It's going to be neuroses because of age stories.' "You have to break the mold. The story of age doesn't work anymore. The sports association can only be healthy if it changes from the old-fashioned way of thinking. "What does age have to do with a good job? There's nothing you can't do because you're young, and you don't have to step down because you're old. I can sing everything from the trot song of the 70s to the 'apartment' (Rosé)," he said, stressing that he would create a Korean sports association that encompasses generations. "In the process of unification, age became a hot topic. The question mark 'Is there a prejudice against age?' was raised, and if not in an objective way that everyone would understand, the idea of unification was abandoned. I will move the minds of sportsmen by explaining why it should be Yoo Seung-min with policies and strategies. Finally, regarding the possibility of winning the chairman, "I'm confident." What is certain is that (current chairman Lee Ki-heung) is not as strong as Wang Hao. The concrete support layer is not that solid. "The sportsmen need to speak out more on the spot."."

◇Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korea Sports Council, profile

▶ Born in Incheon in 1982 ▶Dongnam High School-Gyeonggi University Graduate School of Arts and Sports, Master of Social Sports and Honorary Doctor of Social Sports ▶Major Experience = Former Korean table tennis national team, gold medal in table tennis singles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, bronze in team event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, silver in team event at the 2012 London Olympics, former coach of the Samsung Life Women's Table Tennis Team, former coach of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), former director of the Korean Olympic Committee, former chairman of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Foundation, 2018 Pyeongchang Memorial Foundation, former president of the Korea Table Tennis Association

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.