WT President Choue intends to run for a final term in 2025

The World Taekwondo (WT) General Assembly gathered in Chuncheon, Korea before the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Junior World Championships and approved amendments to the Statutes which will strengthen the organisation’s governance and enhance the sustainability of the sport.

The changes were approved by the World Taekwondo Council when it met earlier today, and received the unanimous support of the Member National Associations (MNAs) at the General Assembly.

They are aimed at creating a more streamlined and efficient World Taekwondo Council, providing more support to the most active MNAs and increasing autonomy for Continental Unions.

Among the changes, the World Taekwondo Council will be reduced in size by approximately one-third from 37 to 25 members. There will also be a larger percentage of members elected by the General Assembly to make the organisation more democratic, with the number appointed by the President reduced from 10 to two, and expanded pathways for strong-performing elected members.

Five vice-presidential roles will be filled by three elected members, one appointed member and the female Council member with the highest proportion of the electoral vote. This marks a shift from the current eight Vice-Presidents, of whom five are Continental Union Presidents holding the role on an ex-officio basis, two are appointed and one is the highest voted female Council member. 

The changes will see 14 Council members elected by the General Assembly, with a minimum of one male and one female per continent, and one member appointed by the President. This represents a reduction from 17 elected members and six appointed by the President.

The Athletes’ Committee Co-Chairs remain as Council members. The Secretary General and Treasurer will maintain their positions on the Council but in a non-voting capacity to reflect their operational roles, and the Auditor will no longer sit on the Council to increase their independence and oversight, but will be invited to meetings.

World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said that the Statutes amendments represent the organisation’s and his own personal determination to be more sustainable as a sport and as an Olympic and Paralympic International Federation. He also explained that amendments were discussed extensively not just within the Taekwondo family, but also with Olympic IFs that are ranked A1 in the most recent ASOIF Governance Review.

“The amendments represent my determination to change rather than be changed. As you may have noticed, I am giving up some of the appointment powers vested in the President to help to make the organisation more democratic and streamlined for efficiency.

“The changes approved today demonstrate World Taekwondo’s commitment to good governance and making our sport more sustainable across all areas, and I am confident they will benefit the global Taekwondo Family in the years ahead,” said Choue. 

The WT President also announced he intends to run for a final term as World Taekwondo President at next year’s elective General Assembly in Wuxi, China.

MNAs approved the 2023-2024 Operation and Finance reports, and heard reports on the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, the Ad-Hoc Competition Rule Review Committee for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028, the first review of MNA Governance and Performance and the World Taekwondo Global Integrity Unit.

In the first review of MNA Governance and Performance, MNAs were assessed based on criteria of governance, participation, performance, events and sustainability to compile a full report. The top five ranking MNAs were USA, Korea, Italy, France and Great Britain.

World Taekwondo Secretary General Jeongkang Seo also had his term extended by a further two years, effective from October 6.

After the General Assembly, the Opening Ceremony of the Chuncheon 2024 World Taekwondo Junior Championships took place at the Songam Sports Town Air Dome where IOC Member Ser Miang Ng attended. It featured a spectacular performance by the World Taekwondo Demonstration Team, and generated further excitement for the beginning of competition on 1 October.