New Kukkiwon President

[Laurentkd]

The USTC announced last weekend that the Kukkiwon has a new president, GM Lee (current Jidokwan president).
I have since been told by my kwanjangnim that GM Lee is actually just an acting, or temporty, president (my kwanjangnim was GM Lee's student).
Does anyone else have any additional or conflicting information? Any opinions?

 

[cmassman]

It's all news to me. I have noticed that the KKW has a tendency not to get my input before they make their decisions.

 

[troubleenuf]

Hey... I have the same problem... but if they did check with me first they would have less problems. That includes the WTF....

It's all news to me. I have noticed that the KKW has a tendency not to get my input before they make their decisions.

 

[IcemanSK]

This was all that I could find on him. http://www.tkdjidokwan.com/grandmastersungwanlee.htm

 

[dortiz]

Possibly related. Mr. Harris posted this on another medium.

Subject: Petition to Keep Kukkiwon Independent from the Government
Here is a situation in Taekwondo that should be of concern to you and
anyone who loves Taekwondo:
The government of South Korea is about to interfere in the management
and administration of Kukkiwon by attempting to place Kukkiwon under
the Korean Ministry of Tourism and Sport. Kukkiwon would then be run
by a Korean Government Official, not by Taekwondo Grandmasters and
leaders. This, we believe, would spell the end of Kukkiwon as the
Mecca of Taekwondo. The intent of the government of South Korea is to
help Kukkiwon to grow and reach even greater heights. But, we believe
that the best way for this to happen is to keep Kukkiwon an
Independent Sports Organization, not by bringing it under government
control.
We would like for as many Taekwondo practitioners and supporters to
write to the government of South Korea and ask that they keep Kukkiwon
as an independent and non-government run organization.
If you wish to contact the government of South Korea regarding keeping
Kukkiwon an Independent organization free from control by the South
Korean government, please go to this website:
http://english.president.go.kr. Once the site comes on your screen,
look in the upper right corner and click on "Contact Us". You may then
write your comments in an email and send directly to the President of
Korea's Office.
Here are some ideas for inclusion in your email:
1. Kukkiwon is the Mecca of Taekwondo and should remain free from
government control.
2. Taekwondo is now International, not just a product of Korea. If the
government controls Kukkiwon, why would people in other countries
continue to support Kukkiwon. Many countries would start their own
National Belt Certification. That would mean the end of Kukkiwon as
the World Taekwondo Headquarters.
3. Taekwondo is the national brand and national treasure of Korea.
Governmental interference in the running of Kukkiwon would drive away
the support that Kukkiwon currently enjoys from countries around the
world.
4. An Independent Kukkiwon has grown and flourished over the past 30
years. Why would the government of Korea interfere now and destroy the
reputation of Kukkiwon and its mission to globalize Taekwondo through
education and certification?
5. The World Taekwondo Headquarters is best run by Taekwondo
Grandmasters and leaders, rather than government officials.
These are just suggestions for inclusions. Feel free to add your own
ideas and opinions in your email as well. Please include the idea that
you will not support Kukkiwon if the government interferes in its
management.
~Bruce

 

[terryl965]

Here we go again and again

 

[Miles]

Here's a photo from GM Al Cole's website:http://www.taekwondojidokwan.com/Quickstart/ImageLib/CWL_award_JDK_1.jpg

GM Lee, Sung Wan is on the left (GM Lee, Chong Woo is on the right)

 

[Archtkd]

The boundaries between the Korean Government, WTF and the Kukkiwon have always been very porous as this history of modern Taekwondo shows: http://tkd.stanford.edu/documents/tkd_history.pdf . The now dormant and controversial Taekwondo reform movement (http://www.tkdreform.com/index.html) led by Grandmaster Dong Ja Yang had indirectly raised this issue nearly a decade ago, during the dismantling of the USTU.

 

[NPTKD]

ya know I was concerned when I first heard about the TKD park and now this! Just when I finally got all my ducks in a row. Do you think that they are pushing to move KKW to the TKD park or just do away with KKW altogether?

 

[Laurentkd]

I read on another site that people should be encouraged to write a letter to the Korean government asking them to not take over the Kukkiwon. Is anyone doing this? What did you write and where are you sending it?

 

[Archtkd]

I've not written a letter about the Kukkiwon's possible and direct takeover by the Korean government, but I plan to do so soon. I think we all should. Since South Korea has used Taekwondo -- extensively and very succesfully -- as a diplomatic tool, I will send my letter to Han Duk-soo the nation's ambassador in Washington D.C. He is his country's representative here in the U.S and is most likely to respond to inquiries made by American citizens and residents. His contacts can be found here: http://www.koreaembassyusa.org/.

 

[dortiz]

If you wish to contact the government of South Korea regarding keeping
Kukkiwon an Independent organization free from control by the South
Korean government, please go to this website:
http://english.president.go.kr. Once the site comes on your screen,
look in the upper right corner and click on "Contact Us". You may then
write your comments in an email and send directly to the President of
Korea's Office.

Dave O.

 

[Archtkd]

I just got word from a reliable source -- a Kwanjangnim, who just returned from Korea -- that the Kukkiwon is in big disarray. The appointment or election of a new and permanent Kukkiwon president is mute, he says, and it doesn’t seem like grandmasters in Korea and overseas really know what’s going on at the moment. He tells me Korean lawmakers have already passed legislation to put the Kukkiwon under direct government control, but the issue in now being fought over in Korean courts.

While it remains to be seen how thing will sort themselves out, the squabbles within the Kukkiwon should make those of us certified by the organization nervous. There’s a danger that the Kukkiwon will become so weak that it will force many more grandmasters and international taekwondo governing bodies to split from the organization. This already has happened in many European countries at the national governing body level. The Korean government takeover attempt of the Kukkiwon, it appears, was made to “save” the organization from imploding from intense internal feuds. That solution, though, could be the thing that will accelerate its demise.

 

[Archtkd]

This controversial article -- an interview of Grandmaster Chong Woo Lee iin 2002 -- is very interesting for anyone closely following Kukkiwon politics.
http://www.tkdreform.com/yook_article.pdf

 

[Archtkd]

I forgot to mention that the Grandmaster Chong Woo Lee, who is the subject of the interview link I posted earlier is the the same Lee, who USTC officials announced was the new Kukkiwon president. I had read the article about six years ago and had forgotten this Lee also is the president of the Jidokwan.

 

[Archtkd]

Sorry folks. I've to correct myself. Chong Woo Lee was the 4th president of the Jidokwan. The current and 5th head of the kwan is Sung Wan Lee. I apologize for the error.

 

[Kittan Bachika]

This post was presented before the election.

The admin was arguing that the President should be a Korean and not a Thai.
Because the last thing anyone wants is have the WTF in the hands of a Thai because everyone knows that a Thai would just turn it into the Muay Thai Federation and use it to take over the world. This is a joke btw.

My take is that if they wanted to stick with a Korean President then they should kept Tae Kwon Do in Korea and not branched it out into the rest of the world.

 

[Laurentkd]

This post was presented before the election.

The admin was arguing that the President should be a Korean and not a Thai.
Because the last thing anyone wants is have the WTF in the hands of a Thai because everyone knows that a Thai would just turn it into the Muay Thai Federation and use it to take over the world. This is a joke btw.

My take is that if they wanted to stick with a Korean President then they should kept Tae Kwon Do in Korea and not branched it out into the rest of the world.

Thanks for the link, that is an interesting read. Keep in mind though that the WTF and the Kukkiwon are not the same thing (although many of us often talk about them as if they are)

 

[Kittan Bachika]

Thanks for the link, that is an interesting read. Keep in mind though that the WTF and the Kukkiwon are not the same thing (although many of us often talk about them as if they are)

Thank you for pointing that out. I have always heard these two groups being referred to as one and the same.

 

[ATC]

Thank you for pointing that out. I have always heard these two groups being referred to as one and the same.

The Kukkiwon is the only taekwondo organization whose dan ranks are recognized by World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The WTF governs the competition aspects of Taekwondo as the International Federation of Taekwondo of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The WTF does not issue dan ranks or black belt certifications. According to the Korean/English Taekwondo Magazine "Taekwondo People" September 2007, the Kukkiwon and the WTF are separate organizations, although the two are often confused with each other. As a result, the term "WTF" is sometimes used to refer to the Kukkiwon-style taekwondo.

Note about the WTF:
The WTF was the bridgehead to promote taekwondo sparring as an international sport, now having made it an official sport of the 2000 Summer Olympics after participation in the 1988 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Olympics as a demonstration sport.