Kim Wonseop, KPGA President-Elect, "I Will Work Hard for the Members"

Obtained 108 out of 183 votes in the temporary general meeting election
Term from January next year to 2027 for 4 years
Ryu Jin, Hankyunghyeop President, aims to activate the 'Support' tour

"I will work solely for the members from the lowest position."

This is the mindset of Kim Won-seop, advisor of Pungsan Group, who was elected as the 19th president of the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA). On the 23rd, at the election held at the KPGA headquarters in Unjung-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, he was elected president with 108 votes (59%) out of 183 delegates. The incumbent president Koo Ja-chul, who sought re-election, received only 75 votes (41%). Kim's term will be four years, from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2027.

Kim said, "Together with the members, our association will be recognized both domestically and internationally and lay the groundwork for a century-long plan," adding, "I will work solely for the members from the lowest position." He continued, "I will meet with sponsors who have supported the association so far and communicate with association members to understand what they need." Kim also promised, "I will increase the prize money of the Korean Tour and create a roadmap for the pension system," and "I will also strive to improve the welfare of the approximately 8,000 members."

Kim Won-seop, advisor of Poongsan Group, was elected as the 19th president of KPGA.
[Photo by KPGA]

Kim majored in Political Science and Diplomacy at California State University in the United States. He has an impressive career related to sports. He served as the wrestling media officer at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, a Major League Baseball commentator for iTV in 1999, director at IMG Korea in 2000, special advisor to the president of the Korean Basketball League for four years starting in 2008, tournament director and senior advisor for the 2015 Presidents Cup, and advisor to the PGA Tour. Currently, he is an advisor to Pungsan Group, led by Ryu Jin, president of the Korea Economic Association (HanKyungHyup), and executive director of the First Tee Korea Foundation.

In this election, Kim pledged a 10 billion KRW sponsorship from Pungsan Group, strengthening the global competitiveness of the Korean Tour, improving the environment and increasing prize money, revitalizing tour marketing, introducing a management system for existing sponsors, implementing a tournament golf course certification project, abolishing seeds for tournament hosts, restoring Asian Tour privileges, securing the association's fund soundness, advancing the member education system, establishing a player pension system, improving member welfare, and rebuilding the KPGA history hall.