Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4.Juni 2004
TAEKWONDO Is Sport for Everyone By Moon Gwang-lip Staff Reporter The international image of <strong>Taekwondo</strong>, a new Olympic sport rooted in Korea's traditional martial arts, was sullied after its introduction at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games by the conviction of the sport's chief representative for corruption. The future of <strong>Taekwondo</strong> as an Olympic event was put in doubt. Kim Un-yong, who headed the World <strong>Taekwondo</strong> Fe<strong>der</strong>ation from 1973 to 2004, was an Olympic committee vice president and a representative in the National Assembly in Korea. He was brought down in disgrace and arrested in January 2004 on suspicion of embezzling 3.84 billion won ($4 million) from the organization. Prosecutors also said he took 810 million won from sporting goods suppliers in an influence peddling deal. He lost his positions and was imprisoned. Today the fe<strong>der</strong>ation has a new lea<strong>der</strong>, brought in to save the sport from toppling from its Olympic position. Choue Chung-won, the son of the foun<strong>der</strong> of Kyunghee University was picked in 2004 to salvage the mess Kim made. ``As soon as I became the president of the WTF in June 2004, I told reporters the Chinese saying, `When you drink water in the well, you should be thankful for the one who dug the well,''' Choue said. ``Kim Un-yong introduced <strong>Taekwondo</strong> as an international sport to the IOC and to the world. So I am very grateful for what he did for <strong>Taekwondo</strong>. But from now on things will be different. The past is past. Transparency is more important now. For the future, as taekwondo is an Olympic sport, we should improve the WTF in line with global standards.'' Choue, elected last year for another four-year term, is now at the forefront of efforts to see that sports in Korea are transparent and fair. At the end of last month, Choue, 59, was nominated to become the first president of the Korea Fair Play Committee, a member of the International Committee for Fair Play (ICFP). The ICEF, based in Paris, promotes fair play with all kinds of national and international sports organizations. But it is his drive to see <strong>Taekwondo</strong> - a sport that he defines as ``Korea's gift to the world'' _ that consumes his daily efforts. Beyond the tainted former lea<strong>der</strong>ship, competitors have criticized the sport for a lack of adequate and fair judging methods. ``Fair play is a really important thing,'' Choue said in a recent interview with The Korea Times at his office in southern Seoul. ``I think it is the most important part of the sports.'' Athletes are eager for medals for their nations, he said, but without fair play, it's meaningless. ¡°So what I am going to do as the (KFPC) president is to spread the fair play spirit to the sport. I am confident. Beginning next year, we are going to search for the real fair play sportsmen in Korea not only for <strong>Taekwondo</strong>, but also for other sports.'' Apparently, the reaction against his predecessor was the chief reason Choue assumed the role of guardian of fair play. ``In <strong>Taekwondo</strong>, there were many problems. In <strong>Taekwondo</strong>, one person dominated the sport, and the Koreans were the dominant group in the sport,'' Choue said. A few months after Choue took the helm, the fe<strong>der</strong>ation launched a reform committee, led by a WTF vice president and IOC member Nat Indrapana of Thailand. A thorough review was un<strong>der</strong>taken to see that the rules ensured clean competition. In a bid to improve the credibility of the judging system, the fe<strong>der</strong>ation increased the number of judges from three to four last year. Last month, it opened the way for electronic sensors to help the judges. ``It's not just where you hit someone, it's how hard you hit him,'' explained Choue. The electronic protectors, which the fe<strong>der</strong>ation says will help reduce refereeing disputes, are expected to debut in the World Taekowndo Championships in May <strong>2007</strong> in Beijing, China, at the earliest.Early next month, the fe<strong>der</strong>ation will hold the first meeting of its Reform Evaluation Committee in Bangkok, to check the progress of the programs. Choue says he has thrown himself into the reform effort, expecting it to help <strong>Taekwondo</strong> remain an Olympic sport indefinitely. <strong>Taekwondo</strong>, approved for inclusion in the 2012 London Olympics, will make its fifth straight appearance at the Olympics if the 2009 IOC Congress in Copenhagen gives it the go-ahead for the 2016 Games. ``We should complete our reforms. Then I think taekwondo will be safe,'' Choue said. Choue has had a long history with taekwondo. Before taking on his new job, Choue contributed to the martial art by establishing the Department of <strong>Taekwondo</strong> at Kyung Hee University in 1983 as a chief planning and management official. This was the first time a Korean university installed the sport as a major. He also played a role in establishing the International <strong>Taekwondo</strong> Academy in 1995 and the International <strong>Taekwondo</strong> Research Institute in 2002, while serving as an executive council member of the Korea <strong>Taekwondo</strong> Association. Choue served as president of Kyung Hee University from 1997 to 2003. He said <strong>Taekwondo</strong>, which now has over 60 million practitioners from 182 nations, is quickly expanding its horizons. Choue crisscrosses the world to promote the sport. At the time of the interview, he had just returned from Macao, where he watched 12 Portuguese-speaking countries compete in <strong>Taekwondo</strong>, and he was just about to leave for Africa for another <strong>Taekwondo</strong> competition. In Johannesburg, South Africa, he was going to see the inauguration of the South African <strong>Taekwondo</strong> Championship. Around 15 countries joined the competition. The soft-spoken president showed pride when he said <strong>Taekwondo</strong> is recognized in many countries as the second-most popular sport after football. ``I heard that many African countries are really fond of <strong>Taekwondo</strong>. <strong>Taekwondo</strong> has become the second sport after football. This is really amazing and surprising,'' he said, adding that the same phenomenon is evident in the Middle East and Latin America. ``There are so many small islands in East African countries, and they are
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