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 teams to represent the nation, and raises funds to send them to Olympic events organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
History The Joseon Sports Council was established on 13 July 1920, and it made Korean national competitions of each sport including All Joseon Football Tournament. The competitions were combined as the All Joseon Sport Games (currently Korean National Sports Festival) in 1934, and the combined competition was held every autumn. However, the Joseon Sports Council was forcibly dissolved by Japan on 4 July 1938, and Korean sporting activities were restricted until the end of the Japanese occupation.
The council was revived after Korean independence in 1945, and joined the IOC on 20 June 1947. It also established the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) to prepare for the Olympic Games in that year. The council was renamed the Korea Amateur Sports Association (KASA) in 1954, and the Korea Sports Council (KSC) in 1994. The KASA succeeded in hosting the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and South Korea finished fourth in that edition, which was its best ever result in Olympics. The KOC was merged into the KSC on 24 June 2009, but the organization used KOC as its name. It once again merged with the Korea Council of Sport for All in March 2016, and named the current "Korean Sport & Olympic Committee" in November 2016, but the emblem of the committee is remaining the same as previous.
On 2 November 2018, officials from both North and South Korea announced that their countries would participate at the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo, Japan, as a unified team. The officials from both Koreas also announced that the letters they would send to the IOC regarding their bids for hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics would also consist of co-host bids so that the Olympic activities would take place in both nations if their bids were accepted as well.
Presidents PresidentCareerLyuh Woon-hyung 1947Jung Hwan-bum 1948Sin Ik-hui 1948–1949Sin Hung-woo 1949–1951Jo Ok-Byeng 1951–1952Lee Ki-poong 1952–1960Kim Dong-ha 1961–1962Lee Ju-Il 1962Lee Hyo 1962–1964Lee Sang-beck 1964–1966Chang Ki-young 1966–1968Min Kwan-sik 1968–1970Kim Yong-woo 1971Kim Taek-soo 1974–1976Park Chong-kyu 1979–1980Jo Sang-ho 1980–1982Jung Ju-young 1982–1984Roh Tae-woo 1984–1985Kim Jong-ha 1985–1989Kim Jong-yeol 1989–1993Kim Un-yong 1993–2002Lee Yun-taek 2002–2005Kim Jung-gil 2005–2008Lee Yun-taek 2008–2009Park Yong-sung 2009–2013Kim Jung-haeng 2013–2016Lee Kee-heung 2016–2025Ryu Seung-min 2025–present
IOC members
MemberCareerLee Ki-poong 1955–1960Lee Sang-baek 1964–1960Chang Ki-young 1967–1977Kim Taek-soo 1977–1983Park Chong-kyu 1984–1985Kim Un-yong 1986–2005Lee Kun-hee 1996–2017Park Yong-sung 2002–2007Moon Dae-sung 2008–2016Ryu Seung-min 2016–2024Lee Kee-heung 2019–2025
Logos
Korean Sports Hall of Fame Olympic sportsNon-Olympic sportsAdministration
YearInducteeGenderSportTitle(s)2011Sohn Kee-chungManAthleticsKim Seong-jipManWeightlifting2014Suh Yun-bokManAthleticsChang Chang-sunManWrestlingFreestyle flyweight champion at the 1966 World Wrestling Championships.Min Kwan-sikMan—KASA president who constructed the Korea National Training Center.2015Yang Jung-moManWrestlingPark Shin-jaWomanBasketballMost Valuable Player at the 1967 FIBA World Championship for Women.Kim Un-yongMan—IOC member who contributed to hosting the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea.2016Kim YunaWomanFigure skatingSingles champion at the 2010 Winter Olympics.2017Cha Bum-kunManFootballOne of champions at the 1979–80 and 1987–88 UEFA Cups.2018Kim Jin-hoWomanArcheryChampion of both individual and team events at the 1979 and 1983 World Archery Championships.Kim IlManProfessional wrestlingOne of WWA World Heavyweight champions.2019Um Hong-gilManMountaineeringClimber who reached 16 highest points including all 14 eight-thousanders.2020Jo O-ryeonManSwimmingChampion of both 400 m freestyle and 1500 m freestyle at the 1970 and 1974 Asian Games.2021Kim Hong-binManMountaineeringFirst disabled person to reach all 14 eight-thousanders.2022Lee Bong-juManAthleticsChampion at the 2001 Boston Marathon.2023Nam Sung-yongManAthleticsOne of the first Korean players to win an Olympic medal (alongside Sohn Kee-chung).2024Ha Hyung-jooManJudoHalf heavyweight champion at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
See also Team Korea Korean Paralympic Committee Sport in South Korea South Korea at the Olympics South Korea at the Asian Games Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Gallup Korea's Athlete of the Year
References
External links Official website