Kim Un-yong or Un Yong Kim (19 March 1931 – 3 October 2017) was a South Korean sports administrator, vice-president of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

, and founding member of the WTF executive board. Kim Un-yong was elected the president of the Korean Taekwondo Association on 23 January 1971. He received a doctorate in political science in 1963 from the

Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...

. Kim retired from the WTF presidency in 2004 and was succeeded by Chungwon Choue. Kim Un-yong was elected the president of the

Korean Taekwondo Association Korea Taekwondo Association (; KTA), originally the Korea Tang Soo Do Association (1961),Park, S. H. (1993): About the author. In H. H. Choi: ''Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence'', 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 241–274). Mississauga: Internatio ...

on 23 January 1971. Though he initially declined the position due to the continued conflicts within the organization, he was asked by the Korean government to accept and to clean up the association. Believing that Taekwondo was a Korean martial art and its governing body should therefore be based in Korea, Dr. Kim dissolved the relationship between the Korean Taekwondo Association and the

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 ...

. In 1973, the

World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo, formerly the World Taekwondo Federation, is an international federation governing the sport of Taekwondo and Para Taekwondo. WT is a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF). The World Taek ...

was formed and Dr. Kim was elected its first president. Kim played a significant role in debuting Taekwondo at the Olympics and helping South Korea host the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. In 2004, he was arrested for embezzlement and bribery charges and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. Kim has served as president of the

Korean Olympic Committee The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (, KSOC) is the National Olympic Committee of Republic of Korea (competing as Korea) for the Olympic Games movement and inbound sports issue. It is a non-profit organization that selects players and team ...

, president of the 2002 Pusan Asian Games organization committee, president of the

Korea Taekwondo Association Korea Taekwondo Association (; KTA), originally the Korea Tang Soo Do Association (1961),Park, S. H. (1993): About the author. In H. H. Choi: ''Taekwon-Do: The Korean art of self-defence'', 3rd ed. (Vol. 1, pp. 241–274). Mississauga: Internatio ...

, president of World Taekwondo Headquarters (

Kukkiwon Kukkiwon (), also known as World Taekwondo Headquarters, and home of the World Taekwondo Academy, is where the official taekwondo governing organization was established by the South Korean government.Min, B.-H. (2005): (11 July 2005). Publishe ...

), an ambassador at large with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, co-chairman of the Rebuilding Korea Committee, and internationally, he was the president of

GAISF Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) was the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international associatio ...

, executive board member of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

, chairman of the IOC Radio and Television Commission, and president of the World Taekwondo Federation. In December 2017 he posthumously appeared on the cover of '' Tae Kwon Do Life Magazine'' in an issue dedicated to his contribution to the globalization of Taekwondo.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Un-yong 1931 births 2017 deaths South Korean politicians convicted of crimes South Korean International Olympic Committee members Sports executives and administrators Yonsei University alumni Prisoners and detainees of South Korea South Korean male taekwondo practitioners Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) People from Daegu Presidents of World Taekwondo 20th-century South Korean sportsmen