Launch of Seodaemun-gu Office Women's Professional Basketball Team Led by Coach Park Chansuk

The team is composed of four former female professional basketball players and four players from high school and college backgrounds.

Players taking on a new challenge with the new team express their determination to 'bring a fresh breeze to women's corporate basketball.'

Coach Park Chan-sook vows, "As a lifelong basketball person, I will nurture the best basketball team."

District Mayor Lee Seong-heon expects "activation of school sports teams, elite sports, and sports leisure culture."

Scheduled to make their first appearance at the National Corporate Basketball Federation Tournament held in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk this May.

The Seodaemun District Office Women's Corporate Basketball Team, led by basketball queen Coach Park Chan-sook (64), held its inaugural ceremony and officially launched on the 29th at the district office auditorium.

Coach Park, who was selected as the youngest female basketball national team member in Korea in 1975 during her first year of high school, is a legend of Korean women's basketball who led the team to win a silver medal at the 1979 World Women's Basketball Championship held in Seoul and a silver medal at the 1984 LA Olympics (Korea's first Olympic silver medal in a ball game event).

In addition to Coach Park, Son Kyung-won (54), a gold medalist at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, joined as a coach, and Jeong Ji-yeon (27), former trainer of the BNK Sum Women's Professional Basketball Team, joined as a trainer.

At the inauguration ceremony of the Seodaemun-gu Office Women's Professional Basketball Team, Coach Park Chan-sook, Ju Hee-bong, President of the Korea Professional Basketball Federation, and Lee Sung-heon, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu (second from the left in the back row), along with the coaching staff and players, are cheering.

The roster consists of eight players: former domestic women's professional basketball players Jung Yoo-jin (30, forward), Hong So-ri (27, forward), Kim Hae-ji (26, center), Kang Joo-eun (21, forward), and players from high school and college backgrounds Lim Hyun-ji (21, guard), Jo Eun-jin (20, center), Kim Na-rim (20, guard), and Kang Da-hyun (19, forward).

To establish the team, the district formed a preparatory committee on January 18 this year, appointed Coach Park Chan-sook on January 31, conducted tryouts on the 20th of last month, and appointed players on the 2nd of this month, immediately starting training.

The training venues are Seodaemun Cultural and Sports Center and Bukahyeon Cultural and Sports Center, and the dormitory was prepared by remodeling two units in a mixed-use building near Hongje Station.

Although Coach Park has experience as a national team coach, this is her first time leading a single club team. She said, "I want to expand the base of women's basketball and inspire hope and courage in young basketball talents. I will take responsibility as a lifelong basketball person to nurture the best basketball team so that players who desperately want to play but had no place to compete can realize their dreams."

She also expressed her ambition, saying, "Basketball has been criticized as boring because it focuses only on defense, but I will showcase exciting offensive basketball with flashy skills."

The players who attended the inaugural ceremony also expressed their determination, saying, "Since we have been given a chance to take on a new challenge with the new team, we will bring a fresh breeze to women's corporate basketball."

At the ceremony, District Mayor Lee Seong-heon, who received the team flag from Ju Hee-bong, president of the Korea Corporate Basketball Federation, said, "Just as Coach Park Chan-sook contributed to national unity through sports in the past, I expect that the operation of the basketball team will greatly help community harmony and the development of recreational sports."

He added, "I hope the establishment of the basketball team will lead to the activation of school sports teams, elite sports, and sports leisure culture, and through the successful operation of a basketball team representing the region, we will also strengthen the brand as a sports city."

On this day, Mayor Lee also revealed a vision for supporting residents' recreational sports activities, expanding public sports facilities, and supporting sports activities for socially vulnerable groups as part of Seodaemun-gu's life care welfare.

Lee Seong-heon, the district mayor, is waving the team flag at the inauguration ceremony of the Seodaemun-gu Office Women's Professional Basketball Team.

With the establishment of this basketball team in Seodaemun-gu, there are now five women's corporate basketball teams in Korea, including Gimcheon City Hall, Sacheon City Hall, Daegu City Sports Council, and Seoul Basketball Association teams. It also serves as the 'only team in a ball game sport' among Seoul's autonomous district workplace sports teams.

The basketball team plans to participate in the National Corporate Basketball Federation Tournament (May 19?21, Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk), the National Men's and Women's Basketball Championships (July 25?August 7, Yeonggwang, Jeonnam), and the 104th National Sports Festival (October 13?19, Mokpo, Jeonnam) this year.

Basketball figures such as Bang Yeol, Shin Dong-pa, Kim In-geon, Park Han, and Choi Hee-am also attended the event to celebrate the launch of the Seodaemun District Office Women's Corporate Basketball Team.