The national Olympic body said Monday it will interview six Olympians vying to become South Korea's candidate for International Olympic Committee (IOC) membership later this week.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said the interviews will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday at a Seoul hotel for six athletes in the running: volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung, golfer Park In-bee, taekwondo athlete Lee Dae-hoon, pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh, archer Oh Jin-hyek and badminton player Kim So-yeong.
They are in the running to represent South Korea in the election for the IOC Athletes' Commission, scheduled during the Paris Summer Olympics next year. The KSOC must endorse one candidate by Sept. 1.
The athletes will each have a chance to make a statement on their candidacy before fielding questions from members of the KSOC's Evaluation Commission.
The evaluation committee will comprise experts from the KSOC and other sports organizations.
After the interviews, the KSOC's Advisory Council will meet next Monday to choose one candidate, and its Athletes' Commission will vote on the choice between Aug. 16 and 17.
The Advisory Council has nine members, led by former KSOC President Kim Jung-kil.
The candidate for the IOC Athletes' Commission must have competed at the previous edition of the Olympics or must have qualified for the Olympics in the same year as the election.
Elected by fellow Olympians, Athletes' Commission members serve an eight-year term, and have the same functions and responsibilities as other members.
South Korea has had two Olympic athletes serve on that commission. Moon Dae-sung, the 2004 Olympic men's taekwondo gold medalist, was there from 2008 to 2016, and Ryu Seung-min, the 2004 Olympic men's singles table tennis champion, was elected in 2016, with his term ending next year. Ryu is also the first vice chair of the commission.
Of the six candidates, Kim Yeon-koung is the only one without an Olympic medal, though she is an immensely popular athlete who carried underdog South Korea to fourth place in 2012 and 2021.
Jin is the most successful shooter in Olympic history, with four gold medals and two silver medals across five Olympic Games. He lost out to Ryu in the South Korean race for candidacy in 2015.
Source: Yonhap News Agency