Ref. No. 17/200
Seoul, 3 October 2017
Dear World Taekwondo family members,
It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Dr. Un Yong Kim, "The Father
of Olympic Taekwondo."
Dr. Kim, who transformed Korea’s national martial art into a global sport, passed away
peacefully today at the hospital of his alma mater, Yonsei University. He was 86 years old.
In 1971, Dr. Kim was elected president of the Korean Taekwondo Association. In 1972, he
founded the Kukkiwon as the flagship center for global taekwondo training and grading. In
1973, he became the founding president of the World Taekwondo Federation, or WTF.
Also in 1973, he presided over the first World Taekwondo Championships at the
Kukkiwon. In 1988, under Dr. Kim’s stewardship, taekwondo was a demonstration sport at
the Seoul Olympics. And in 2000, thanks to Dr. Kim’s efforts, taekwondo became a
program sport in Sydney.
All my efforts for taekwondo are based on the solid foundation of his earlier achievements.
He was the founding father of Olympic taekwondo. Everyone in global taekwondo today
benefits from the structures he created; every taekwondo player today who dreams of
Olympic glory owes Kim a debt of gratitude.
I know all members of the world taekwondo family join me in expressing condolences to
Dr. Kim’s wife and children.
The passing of Dr. Un Yong Kim makes October 3rd a sad day for the world taekwondo
family. But while the man has departed, his legacy lives on.
Sincerely yours,
Chungwon Choue
President
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