Volleyball Player Kim Yeon-koung Receives Korea Sports Award for Competition... Former Skating Representative Park Seung-hee Awarded Blue Dragon Medal

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo (left) attended the 58th Korea Sports Awards ceremony and the 2020 Sports Development Merit Awards presentation held at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 15th, and presented the Korea Sports Award in the competition category to volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung.
[Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung (32, Heungkuk Life) received the honor of the Game Award at the 58th Korea Sports Awards ceremony held on the 15th at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul.

At the ceremony, Han Jae-young, mother of disabled athletics national representative Jeon Min-jae, who won two gold medals in athletics at the 2018 Indonesia Asian Para Games, received the 'Honorable Parent Award for Sportspeople.' Professor Son Seok-jung of Namseoul University received the Research Award, and Cho Jong-hyung, coach of the Seoul City Fencing Team, received the Coaching Award.

Lee Sang-woong, president of the Korea Rugby Association, received the Merit Award, Han Jong-woo, secretary general of Osan City Sports Council, received the Promotion Award, Shim Jae-yong, secretary general of the Incheon Metropolitan City Disabled Shooting Federation, received the Overcoming Award, Professor Oh Kwang-jin of Korea Welfare University received the Special Physical Education Award, and Kim Kyung-min, an international football referee, was selected as the Referee Award recipient.

Recipients of the Korea Sports Awards were given certificates and prize money of 10 million won, and the special 'Honorable Parent Award for Sportspeople' recipient was awarded a plaque of appreciation and a token prize.

The Korea Sports Awards annually select and honor individuals with achievements in nine fields including outstanding athletes, coaches, sports promotion, and research (7 fields for the Presidential Award, 1 field for the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award, and 1 special award field).

On this day, eight people including former national speed skating representative Park Seung-hee (retired) received the Blue Dragon Medal for contributions to sports development. Sixteen people including fencing national representative Shin Ah-ram received the Tiger Medal, and ten people including Korea Wrestling Association coach Noh Jae-hyun received the Giant Medal.

Government awards such as the Sports Development Merit Medals are the highest honors in the sports field, awarded to athletes and coaches who have contributed to the development of sports in Korea. The rank of each medal recipient is determined based on selection criteria that consider their contributions to national sports development and cumulative scores calculated from the achievements of athletes and coaches in international competitions.

This year, 50 people received the Sports Development Merit Medals (8 Blue Dragon Medals, 16 Tiger Medals, 10 Giant Medals, 4 White Horse Medals, 2 Giraffe Medals, and 10 Sports Medals). Park Yang-woo, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "The achievements made by sportspeople have given hope and pride to the public and contributed to enhancing the national brand value. I believe that the will and source of hope to overcome the COVID-19 situation also lie in the sports field. We will continue to pay attention to and generously support the activities of sportspeople."