Jeon Kyeong-hoon (50), president of the Korea Business Badminton Federation, issued a challenge to become president of the Korea Badminton Association.
On the 28th, former president officially declared his candidacy for the next Korean Badminton Association president election. In a press release distributed to reporters on this day, “I was attracted to the touching performance of Ahn Se-young, who brought the Olympic gold medal to Korean badminton for the first time in 28 years.” He explained the background to his decision to run, saying, “After observing the remarks that pointed out problems with participation in competitions, etc., I decided that transparent management of the association was necessary.”
With the former president’s declaration of candidacy, there is a high possibility that the next Badminton Association president election will be a three-way race. While Wonkwang University professor Kim Dong-moon, a former Olympic gold medalist, previously announced his intention to run, current Chairman Kim Taek-gyu, who is under investigation for various misconduct charges, is also likely to run again. The former president must compete with a former star athlete (Kim Dong-moon) and the existing president of the association (Kim Taek-gyu).
Former Chairman Jeon, who took on the position of President of the Business Federation in July of last year and successfully led it, establishing a solid position, said that the reason he took on this difficult challenge was because of Ahn Se-young’s tears. He attended the press conference on this day and said, “I cried along with Ahn Se-young when I saw her crying after winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.” Afterwards, Ahn Se-young, who made a final statement, posted on her social media account, “This situation.” It touched my heart when I saw the post saying, ‘I sincerely hope that there are adults who can solve the problem.’ “After much thought, I decided that I would be that ‘adult’,” he said.
President Jeon prepared an unprecedented pledge to take a new leap forward for the Korea Badminton Association, which was marred by various misconduct controversies. The plan is to sponsor a total of 2.4 billion won over the next four years to transform the organization into a competitive sports organization encompassing elite and lifestyle sports.
Chairman Jeon introduced his career, saying, “I achieved great success while working as a pharmacist, and even after establishing my business, it continued to grow,” and then added, “This time, I want to maximize the competitiveness of Korean badminton with my know-how and passion.” Since establishing Passion Korea, a Korean food franchise, in 2022, Chairman Jeon has grown it into the No. 1 soup and rice brand with 250 franchises nationwide.
In order to raise the international competitiveness of Korean badminton, Chairman Jeon announced his plan to build a dedicated stadium capable of hosting international competitions and to host the world championships through this. There are also plans to raise the Korea Cup, whose status has fallen significantly compared to the past, into a prestigious tournament with world-class players participating. In addition, it plans to connect 17 city and provincial associations and companies in the form of a one-to-one sponsorship contract to promote self-reliance and revitalization of local associations.
Chairman Jeon said, “The reason I am concerned about the development of Korean badminton, as I am not a former player, is because I am immersed in this sport myself.” He added, “After getting into badminton at the recommendation of a customer while I was a pharmacist, I became passionate enough to travel from Jamsil, Seoul to Uijeongbu to exercise.” burned the “I will present a new path to Korean badminton based on my experience starting from a hobbyist and growing up to the president of an industrial federation, and covering both everyday sports and the elite,” he said.
Song Ji-hoon ([email protected])
