Refer Report
Kim Taek-gyu, president of the Korea Badminton Association, said, “We need to get rid of the old-generation customs.”
Chairman Kim Taek-gyu said in an interview with Yonhap News on the 27th, “For example, we need to review all regulations regarding national team selection, sponsorship, and contracts. The top priority is to make it easy for players to play for the national team.”
Chairman Kim said, “It must be so frustrating for Ahn Se-young to say something like that even after winning the gold medal,” and emphasized, “There isn’t much time left (for me as the association president), but I will do my best to improve the system. I will review all of the opinions expressed by Ahn Se-young.”
However, he explained that consistency with other sports must be maintained and that it is not a matter for the chairman to decide alone.
Chairman Kim said, “The overall flow should be the same as that of the member organizations of the Korea Sports Council,” and “It is not something I can judge and decide on my own.” He added, “Whether it is the National Assembly, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, or the Korea Sports Council, if an agreement is reached (on improving the system), improvements should be made accordingly.”
Regarding national team coach Kim Hak-gyun, he said, “He needs to have many qualities to lead dozens of players and coaches, but I feel like he had too many personal tendencies.” He also said, “I feel like he managed the national team centered around Olympic players, and I’m not sure if he communicated well with the players who were doing well.”
Chairman Kim responded to the claim that there was no sponsorship from the association’s executives by saying, “I don’t know since when, but the badminton association has never (had executives donate) sponsorship money,” and “This issue could be resolved by adding a clause in the association’s articles of association requiring executives to pay a contribution.”
When asked if efforts to attract external sponsorship were insufficient, he admitted, “When I came to the association, (the sponsors) were almost all decided. Now, we need to change to giving more money.”
Regarding the suspicion that an additional 30% of the total quantity was received through secret contracts while purchasing shuttlecocks as a government project, he explained, “We received them as sponsorship items, and at the time, we received a legal interpretation from our lawyer that there was no problem.”
Regarding the claim that he verbally abused some employees, he said, “I was wrong to yell at them. If I swore at them and they were hurt, I should apologize.” Regarding the suspicion that he received a kickback from a souvenir manufacturer, he denied it, saying, “It is not true.”
He said that the suspicions raised about him after Ahn Se-young’s determination statement came from an internal faction. Chairman Kim said, “There is not enough time to discuss what to improve on what Ahn Se-young said, but those people are still not interested and are only slandering us,” and emphasized, “It is time for people from elite groups to come up with alternatives instead of going around like that.”
This is the first time that Chairman Kim has responded to a face-to-face interview with the press since Ahn Se-young won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics on the 5th of this month and made a statement of determination.
Reporter Lee Song-ryeol, Hankyung.com yisr0203@hankyung.com
Source: Korean