The Korean sports community is changing. Perception is changing in Korean sports, which still had a hierarchical order as strict as the military. An extraordinary change is taking place in which the MZ generation, who was born in the 1980s, is elected as the head of the sports community as a whole and the chairman who will lead the winter sports world, beyond the current chairman.
On top of that, some analysts say that the elite sports community, which had been lagging behind in terms of daily sports, has come together. However, unlike the existing method in which age and experience take precedence, an atmosphere is being created that fresh, clean and capable personnel should lead the sport.
This phenomenon was particularly noticeable in the election of the 42nd chairman of the Korea Sports Council and other sports organizations. What happened to Korean sports in the new year of 2025.
▲ Miracle of Yoo Seung Min that destroyed 'Lee Gi-heung-Ah-sung' signals a change in sports in South Korea
Since the election of the 42nd chairman of the Korea Sports Council on the 14th, a big surprise has taken place. Lee Ki-heung (70), the current chairman who was most likely to win a third term, failed to win the election. Lee, who was elected in the 2016 and 2021 elections, was expected to become the "Korean Sports President" again, but the results were different.
Yoo Seung Min, 43, who was born in 1982, proudly received his election certificate. Out of 2,244 electors, Yoo received 417 votes, beating Lee with 379 votes. He garnered 34.4 percent of the vote, compared with 31.3 percent.
He was the winner of a historic election in which the largest number of candidates ran. In addition to Yoo and Lee, Kang Tae-sun (215 votes), Kang Shin-wook (120 votes), honorary professor at Dankook University, Oh Joo-young (59 votes), and Kim Yong-joo (15 votes), former secretary-general of the Gangwon Provincial Sports Council, ran for the election.
It was evaluated as a miracle. Lee won the election by winning about 33 percent of the votes in the 2016 election and 46.4 percent in 2021. As chairman of the sports association for the past eight years, Lee has strengthened his foundation, and unification seemed to be the only solution for his victory in the so-called pan-night world. The reason for this is that Lee's failure to unify the two previous elections resulted in reflection of his party's gains. However, Yoo boldly gave up unification and chose his own path to win the election.
Analysts say that there was a great desire for change within the Korean sports community. Before the election, an official of an event group said, "There are many sportsmen who are sick of the so-called elderly's political fights," and expressed his hope, "I hope there will be a young chairman who can really devote himself to Korean sports regardless of his power." Another official pointed out about Chairman Lee, who had been at odds with the government, saying, "In the past, I improved irrational parts against the government, but recently I feel like I am only working for my third term."
In this atmosphere, Yoo seems to have been recognized for his youthful spirit and ability. Yoo was a star player who won the gold medal in men's singles at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the silver medal in team event at the 2012 London Games. He was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and he also gained experience as an administrator by serving as the chairman of the Korea Table Tennis Association and the chairman of the International Sports Strategy Committee.
On top of that, he visited all 68 sports organizations under the sports association to experience actual sports. During his campaign period, he walked an average of 25 kilometers a day, captivating athletes. "Yoo Seung Min has created a miracle with such enthusiasm," said Kim Taek-soo, general manager of Mirae Asset Securities who collaborated with Yoo for the gold medal as the coach for the men's national team during the Athens Olympics. "Yoo Seung Min itself was the biggest weapon." This is the secret to the birth of the youngest person ever to head the Korean Olympic Committee.
▲A Korean badminton savior in tumultuous times, selected as an event legend...Born in 1983 in 女, Korea's ice skating chairman is a former figure skater
Badminton, which has attracted national attention since the Paris Olympics last year, has also seen a wind of change. Kim Dong-moon, a former Olympic gold medalist and professor of Wonkwang University, was elected as the chairman.
After twists and turns, Professor Kim won 64 votes in the 32nd election for the Badminton Korea Association president on the 23rd, surpassing current chairman Kim Taek-kyu with 43 votes. He beat Jeon Kyung-hoon (39 votes), chairman of the Korea Federation of Business Badminton, and Choi Seung-tak (8 votes) former chairman of the Daegu Badminton Association.
In fact, Chairman Kim Taek-gyu could have been reappointed based on his performance in the four years since taking office in 2021. At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, he won two gold medals, two silver medals, and three bronze medals, wiping out the disgrace of no medals at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, and achieving three gold medals at the World Championships. In re-signing with his official sponsor, Yonex, he significantly increased the amount of sponsorship from $1.9 million to $2.9 million, increasing his finances.
However, Chairman Kim's position was shaken by the so-called bombshell remarks made by Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), who won the gold medal in women's singles at the Paris Olympics. Chairman Kim was caught in the crossfire by Ahn's remarks criticizing the management of the national team and the association. From various perspectives, Ahn's complaints were mostly directed at the inside of the national team, including coaches and seniors, but Kim was the only target.
On top of that, criticism spread like wildfire as badminton figures who were at odds with Chairman Kim attacked the association in the wake of Ahn's remarks. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which was at odds with Chairman Lee Ki-heung, also kicked out the association from the clerical inspection just as it established discipline in sports organizations. Anyway, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which had to submit the result of Ahn's remarks, requested the police to investigate Kim on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust, including violation of subsidy law, and suggested the association to dismiss him.
Amid the political turmoil, the association's presidential election management committee pushed ahead with the election despite controversy over violation of regulations, and Kim won the election. Despite unfair conditions including lack of campaign period, Kim ran for president, but failed to overcome the trend of wanting a change. Veteran badminton players who had bitter confrontation with Kim also failed to win the hearts of voters. Chairman Jeon Kyung-hoon, whom they pushed for, only garnered fewer votes than Chairman Kim.
Professor Kim is a legend who won gold medals in mixed doubles and men's doubles respectively with Samsung Life Insurance coach Gil Young-ah at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and former Yonex coach Ha Tae-kwon at the Athens Games.
In the 34th presidential election of the Korea Skating Union held on the 24th, the next day, a younger candidate than Yoo Seung Min was elected. Lee Soo-kyung, president of Sambo Motors Group who was born in 1983, will lead the Korean ice skating team.
Of course, other candidates, including Yoon Hong-geun, former chairman of Genesis BBQ Group, did not run in the upcoming election. It was Lee's sole candidacy.
However, skating was in the midst of change throughout Korean sports. Lee, a former figure skater, serves as a board member of the federation and has extensive experience in field and administration as an international referee and data operator at the International Skating Union (ISU).
"I didn't know the opportunity would come so soon, but I had an ambition to become the head of the federation someday," Lee said after the election. On top of that, Lee garnered support from young skaters such as leaders, and Chairman Yoon, who had made significant contributions such as serving as the head of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, also gave up his candidacy, saying, "It is right to return the federation to skaters." This is the background of the birth of the youngest Korean ice skating president ever.
▲The daunting task given to young leadership...How to Reestablish Relationship with South Korea's Collapsed Government
Young presidents have been produced, but the burden given to them is by no means light. There are many tasks to be solved in each sport as well as in Korean sports as a whole.
Yoo Seung Min must immediately restore his relationship with the collapsed government. It is clear that Lee's tug of war with the government over the leadership of sports in Korea has distanced himself from the sports association. This is the most important part, as the committee can only be executed for administrative purposes if it receives the government's budget.
President-elect Yoo already met with Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yoo In-chon and Second Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran to lay the groundwork for improved relations. As the government is not a hateful chairman, it has promised full support to Yoo Seung Min. On top of that, after the election, Yoo expressed his ambition by saying, "I will re-establish school sports, the basis of Korean sports."
President-elect Lee Soo-kyung also has a heavy responsibility. "The Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics will be held in February next year, and skating is a star in winter sports," Lee said. "We will provide support to athletes so that they can train comfortably and stably." In the long run, Lee stressed that he will create a new competition to maintain the base of players and coaches.
Above all, skating is considered to be a highly conflicting sport, including factional strife. "Since we cannot all agree on the same issue, we will find a compromise by listening to many people who oppose it," Lee said. "We will provide a communication channel to listen to various voices including anonymous reporting system to the federation."
President-elect Kim Dong-moon's shoulders are heavier. Although the election for the president of the association is over, legal battles are inevitable as there have been many problems with the election committee. Chairman Kim Taek-kyu said, "We will start a lawsuit to invalidate the election."
The association's election committee announced the disqualification of Kim on the 8th, but pushed for the interpretation that it was an unreasonable decision by the working-level staff of the Korea Sports Council. It was because Chairman Kim caused a social stir, but it was difficult to apply it because the police investigation has not yet been completed.
On top of that, he revealed that two members including Oh Jae-gil, who said, "I will take responsibility as a lawyer," were political parties and were not eligible for election committee members. In the end, the court ruled the committee's decision invalid, making Kim eligible for the nomination. The court also interpreted that all procedures of the committee, which have serious procedural defects in its composition, may not be effective.
However, the association's board of directors added three more members, and the committee decided to hold the election on Sunday. Chairman Kim couldn't participate in the draw to his liking, and the campaign period was unfair, less than half of the other candidates. The election was carried out even though there was a strong possibility of losing due to legal disputes. As there is still room for the election to be nullified, chances are high that Korean badminton will suffer a setback. 안전놀이터
In addition, there are numerous administrative issues of the association, including the recovery of the ministry's subsidy law. "We will resolve the issue of state subsidies as the first priority," Kim said. "We will play harder and communicate with athletes and leaders, badminton players and officials unconditionally."
Korea's physical education is facing a huge trend of change, with Choi Yoon, chairman of OK Financial Group, who led the Korea Rugby Association for four years, also changing. In this atmosphere, the whole nation's attention is drawn to how the young leadership will change Korean sports and lead in what direction.