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Hello Master Choi, is good to talk with you again. Would you be kind enough to talk to us for a few minutes?
Sure. How can I help you?
As you surely know, the WTF elections will be held in July, and according to information obtained by masTaekwondo.com there will be a possibility that three candidates will run for the WTF presidency. One of them is a member of the Korean government, and on the other hand, the President of the German Taekwondo Federation, Mr. Soo-Naam Park. What is PATU position about this?
Well I heard about it, but for now we must wait and see what will actually become official; which registrations will be actually recorded and until then, we could give an opinion.
What do you think about the fact that a person of Korean government wants to run for the WTF presidency?
Well, maybe the Korean government wants to support WTF more directly and that is why they want to register this person, because they think he would be a good candidate for the position. I really do not know. Until the official registration is disclosed it is quite difficult to make a comment. I believe that Dr. Choue has done a great job, but there is always competition. Once all the candidates are registered, PATU will analyse the situation and make a decision.
On the other hand, what do you think about the candidacy of the German Taekwondo Federation President, Mr. Soo-Naam Park?
Well after reading the information in masTaekwondo.com which states that Mr. Park does not have Europe´s support for his candidacy, it seems strange that he finally made that decision. Why to postulate if your continent is supporting Dr. Choue? But there is the traditional position in the WTF elections, in which he may not have a lot of votes, but there is a negotiation about who is stronger.
There may be some variables why he decided to run. He is a great taekwondo Master and he may have a lot of support; that is why he recently became President of the German Taekwondo. And although a lot of European federations support Dr. Choue, there will be people who will support Mr. Park also. He has supporters in Asia, too. Like I said, he must believe he has a chance to win that´s why he wants to run.
What factors would make PATU support a candidate?
Now that Taekwondo is a core sport for the 2020 Olympics I think it’s time that the WTF focus on Taekwondo people, I mean all that is necessary for taekwondo people. It is also necessary to create a balance between all continental unions, which is very important to our progress.
For me this should be the key for the next campaign. The candidate who decides to run for presidency should focus on this, in seeking equal opportunity for each Continental Union; in the Pan-American region we have many people who are qualified to perform complicated jobs and I really do not know why they do not take advantage of our people. It’s time to focus on small countries and make them develop and thereby generate a really overall development. If you see, when there is an event, you do not see all countries participating; we need more countries to participate. In the organization of continental events there are several ideas that could be implemented for a further development in general, and that would make taekwondo people very happy. Things that would make everyone enjoy the Olympic program.
Assuming that these three candidates mentioned were registered officially, what would be PATU president´s suggestion for PATU´s members?
Well I think PATU showed its unity in the 2009 Copenhagen elections, and members of PATU remain united, so I think that the other candidates will respect that, since we are a large voting strength. After we analyze the situation we will support the stronger candidate, either way I think President Choue has done a great job, he is not perfect, but I’m happy with his work, as well as many PATU Presidents are happy with him, too.
Master Choi, thank you very much for your time. How would like to close this interview?
I want to wish good luck to all candidates and as PATU President it my wish that the person in charge of the WTF be the most qualified candidate for the position, who can provide equal opportunities for all, to share the Olympic program with more people, make further development for Taekwondo. That’s what we want, so we’ll see, and we will have enough time to discuss all proposals and make the best decision when the time comes.
Alex Korram, Exclusive masTaekwondo.com