Dr. Chungwon Choue (fouth from left at front row ), president of the World Taekwondo Federation, poses with members of the WTF Reform Committee, including Dr. Nat Indrapana (fourth from right at front row), the committee chairman, on the final day of the committee's three-day meeting at a hotel in Bangkok Jan. 27.

BANGKOK (Jan. 27, 2005) — A reform committee organized by the World Taekwondo Federation capped off a three-month-long effort here today, issuing its final recommendations aimed at making the sport more exciting and appealing to global audiences and at revamping the sport's world governing body.

The recommendations, to be formally sent to the WTF leadership next month, span 16 areas including competition format, refereeing, marketing, finance, development, and organizational structure.

Among the 11-member Reform Committee's proposals are changes to competition format that would generate more action-packed games, such as a smaller competition floor, a shorter contest length, and awarding points for punches and an extra point for difficult moves such as flying and jumping kicks.

Also included in the reform proposals are measures to boost the WTF's marketing program. By raising the appeal and reputation of the sport worldwide, members said, the WTF would draw more attention from sponsors. The marketing proceeds would support the 177 member National Associations by providing uniforms and equipment along with technical assistance such as more training programs for coaches and athletes.

Dr. Chungwon Choue

In the area of organization, the reform aims to make the sports body more transparent, professional, and efficient through continuous training of staff, and hiring more experts in such fields as accounting, public relations, and information technology. The proposals of this task force will be forwarded for deliberation to the WTF's Extraordinary Executive Council, which will meet in one month. Their version, including any changes, will go before the WTF General Assembly in Madrid in April.

"Taekwondo is Korea's gift to the world," said Dr. Nat Indrapana, the committee chairman and member of the International Olympic Council (IOC) from Thailand. "We are moving in the right direction of transforming the WTF into a more global, more professional sports federation, in line with the IOC's ongoing reform efforts."

The Reform Committee took shape following the election of Chungwon Choue as the federation's president in June 2004. Dr. Choue called for the creation of a "New Taekwondo" movement that would ensure the continued success of Taekwondo in the Olympic program.

In November, the makeup of the committee was announced and its first meeting was held in Seoul from Dec. 7 to 11, where members engaged in brainstorming sessions to set the priorities for the comprehensive reform agenda.

"With the final recommendations now out, I am confident that the WTF will surely enter a brighter future," said Dr. Choue. "The efforts to develop Taekwondo undertaken by these hardworking volunteers hearten me, and I am quite certain that not only will Taekwondo continue its presence in the Olympic Games well beyond 2012, but it will find even greater popularity among the peoples of many nations."

Choue Chungwon (center), president of the World Taekwondo Federation, poses with new WTF Secretary General Moon Dong-hoo and outgoing WTF Secretary General Lee Kum-hong at the WTF Headquarters in downtown Seoul on Oct. 6, 2004.

The president has also emphasized the need for a "servant spirit" at the WTF to provide better communication services to each of the 177 member National Associations.

The reform committee – the first of its kind in the WTF's 32-year history – is made up of a diverse and respected group, with seven Taekwondo leaders hailing from the African, Pan-American, European and Asian regions, and four renowned and experienced leaders from outside the Taekwondo community.

The Taekwondo leaders are Dr. Indrapana, the newly elected president of the Taekwondo Association of Thailand; Mr. Ivan Dibos, an IOC member from Peru; Mr. Dai Soon Lee of Korea, president of the Asian Taekwondo Union; Mr. Ahmed Fouly of Egypt, a vice president of the WTF and president of the African Taekwondo Union; Mr. Wei Jizhong of China, a member of the Executive Council of the Olympic Council of Asia; Mr. Dai Won Moon of Mexico, a member of the WTF Executive Council, and Mr. Sung Chon Hong of the Philippines, vice president of the Philippine Taekwondo Association.

The experts from outside the sport are Mr. Andre Gorgemans, secretary general of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry; Mr. Pierre Ferrari, a founding partner of Tula Communications in Atlanta, Georgia; Dr. Giovanni Di Cola, a program director with the International Labor Organization in Switzerland, and Dr. Emmanuel Bayle, a professor in management science at the University of Lyon, France.


Members of WTF Reform Committee

Chairman
      Dr. Nat Indrapana (Thai)
      Vice President of the WTF
      Member of the International Olympic Committee
      President of the Taekwondo Association of
      Thailand

Members (10)

1.   Mr. Ivan Dibos (Peruvian)
      Member of the International Olympic Committee
      Member of the WTF Executive Council

2.   Mr. Dai Soon Lee (Korean)
      Member of the WTF Executive Council
      President of the Asian Taekwondo Union

3.   Mr. Ahmed Fouly (Egyptian)
      Vice President of the WTF
      President of the African Taekwondo Union

4.   Mr. Jizhong Wei (Chinese)
      Member of the WTF Executive Council

5.   Mr. Dai Won Moon (Mexican)
      Member of the WTF Executive Council

6.   Mr. Sung Chon Hong (Filipino)
      Member of the WTF Executive Council

7.   Dr. Giovanni Di Cola (Italian)
      Focal Person on Sport and Development at the
      International Labor Organization (ILO)
      Universitas Program Coordinator in the
      International
      Labor Office of the International Labor
      Organization

8.   Mr. Andre Gorgemans (Swiss and Belgian)
      Secretary General of the World Federation of the
      Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) in Switzerland

9.   Mr. Pierre Ferrari (British)
      Founding Partner of Tula Communications,
      Atlanta, Georgia President of the Hot Fudge
      Social Venture Capital Fund