Choi Jung-hwa (born 20 May 1954) is the only son of General

Choi Hong-hi Choi Hong-hi (; 9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) was a South Korean Army general, and martial artist who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, albeit controversial due to his introduction of taek ...

, who is regarded as the founder of

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

Biography

Choi Jung-hwa studied Taekwon-Do since the age of 7 under his father and many prominent high ranking Taekwon-Do Masters during their visits and stays with General Choi. His claimed earliest recollections of training are around the time General Choi was appointed as Korea's Ambassador to Malaysia. Choi spent his early childhood training on the lawn of the Embassy compound, as there were no

dojang () is a term used in Korean martial arts, such as Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Kuk Sool Won, and hapkido, that refers to a formal training hall. It is typically considered the formal gathering place for students of a martial art to conduct trai ...

s established at that point. He grew up in an environment surrounded by Taekwon-Do due to General Choi's schedule and work in spreading Taekwon-Do globally. Choi Jung-hwa trained with many high-ranking instructors during this period.

International Taekwon-Do Federation

Choi held the post of Secretary General and Vice Secretary of the ITF for several years until

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

's successor to the Presidency by the ITF members in 2001. He allegedly offered that General Choi should remain ITF President for the first 2 years of that term as to give him the opportunity to "retire with dignity" in 2003. General Choi Hong-hi died less than 12 months later. Choi Jung-hwa was promoted to 9th Degree Black Belt in 2005 and to the rank of Grandmaster. Choi prefers the title of President or Master to Grandmaster. He has been a regular visitor to Australia since the mid-1990s. After his father's death he formed his own

International Taekwondo Federation International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is an international taekwondo organization founded on March 22, 1966, by Choi Hong Hi () in Seoul, South Korea. The ITF was founded to promote and encourage the growth of the Korean martial arts, Korean ...

. Prior to forming his own Taekwondo organization he was a Vice Secretary of his father's ITF organization. Choi Jung-hwa still works extensively promoting Taekwon-Do around the world and is accredited with introducing and developing Taekwon-Do in many Eastern European countries such as Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Romania, the former USSR and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Under his leadership, the ITF historically returned to South Korea for its 2004 ITF World Championships. ITF has now commenced re-establishing itself in South Korea, Choi Jung-hwa's country of birth.

Emigration to Canada and conviction

In 1971 Choi Jung-hwa emigrated to Canada. In 1983 Choi was convicted in Canada on charges that he conspired to assassinate the President of South Korea

Chun Doo-Hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...

. He was sentenced in Canada, and was barred from South Korea (this has since been rescinded). He was convicted in absentia, and travelled as a Taekwon-Do instructor in the then

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

nations; mainly Yugoslavia and in the DPRK as well. It was not until several years later that he returned to Canada to finish his prison term.

References

External links

Choi Jung-hwa
on the ITF website.
General Choi Hong-hi
on the ITF website.
itf-administration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Jung-hwa 1951 births Living people Sportspeople from Jeju Province South Korean male taekwondo practitioners South Korean emigrants to Canada People convicted in absentia People convicted of attempted murder People convicted of treason against South Korea Sports executives and administrators 20th-century South Korean sportsmen