Unanimous Endorsement by Korea Archery Association Election Committee on the 20th
Chairman Jeong's Leadership Emphasizing 'Transparency and Fairness' Draws Attention
Korean Archery Gains National Support Alongside Top Achievements
Hyundai Motor Sponsors Korean Archery for 40 Years... Longest Single-Sport Support
Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, will lead South Korean archery for another four years, contributing to the development of Korean sports. South Korean archery has reached the pinnacle of the world over the past 40 years, thanks to the support of Hyundai Motor Group and nationwide public interest. It is evaluated that Chairman Chung's leadership, which emphasized transparent and fair association management, was instrumental in South Korean archery's long-term top performance.
On the 20th, the Korea Archery Association announced that, after deliberation and resolution by the Election Management Committee composed of seven sports experts, Chairman Chung was unanimously elected as the 14th President of the Korea Archery Association. With this, Chairman Chung will serve as the President of the Korea Archery Association for the sixth consecutive term since his first appointment in 2005. His term will last until January 2029.
The Korea Archery Association evaluated that Chairman Chung presented a mid- to long-term vision for Korean archery, advanced the association's administrative operation system, contributed to financial independence, and enhanced the essential competitiveness of Korean archery through support for national representatives, nurturing outstanding talent, expanding the domestic archery base, and strengthening global capabilities. An association official explained the background of his reappointment, saying, "We are confident that Chairman Chung will contribute to the continuous development of Korean archery based on the expertise accumulated in archery over the years."
Chairman Chung has been the President of the Korea Archery Association since May 2005. Since then, he has integrated corporate management with archery, contributing to placing South Korean archery at the top of the world. Despite being a less popular sport, South Korean archery has gained public trust and broad support through a fair and transparent system.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun (far right) is taking a commemorative photo with the national team that won the women's team gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics at Les Invalides in Paris, France. Photo by Hyundai Motor Company
The Secret to South Korean Archery's Nationwide Popularity: "Fairness, Transparency, Excellence"
Above all, Chairman Chung has led the Korea Archery Association based on three core principles: "Fairness, Transparency, and Excellence." He modernized the administrative system and established a fair selection system. He built a system for nurturing excellent athletes from youth to national representatives and implemented various policies such as creating after-school archery classes for elementary and middle schools to popularize archery. At the same time, he strengthened sports diplomacy to elevate the status of Korean archery.
He actively introduced Hyundai Motor Group's R&D capabilities into archery, promoting the development of new technologies and equipment to improve athletes' performance. Thanks to Chairman Chung's full support, Korean archery achieved its 10th consecutive gold medal in the women's team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics and swept all categories.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun (second from the right) is taking a commemorative photo with the national team that won the men's team gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics at Les Invalides in Paris, France. Photo by Hyundai Motor Company
'Chung Eui-sun Leadership' Leading the World's Strongest Archery
As South Korean archery achieves world-class results and gains nationwide love, public attention is also focused on Chairman Chung's leadership. He is highly regarded for his absolute contribution to establishing a system that ensures the association operates fairly and transparently.
The Archery Association has a structure that makes unfair practices or biased athlete selections due to academic or regional factions impossible. National representatives are selected strictly through competition based on current performance, excluding past results or reputation. Coaching staff are also appointed fairly and transparently through open recruitment.
Chairman Chung has also greatly contributed to Korean archery reaching the top of the world by systematizing excellent athlete development, expanding and popularizing archery for future growth, producing executives in international archery organizations, and activating sports diplomacy.
To nurture archery hopefuls, in 2013, he established a youth national team corresponding to the elementary school level, providing equipment and training support, and arranged for free provision of archery equipment to elementary schools and some middle schools. Through this, a continuous and systematic excellent athlete development system was established, linking youth, hopefuls, candidate athletes, reserve teams, and national representatives.
To expand and popularize archery, he created recreational sports competitions and club tournaments and promoted projects to include archery in school physical education classes, making steady efforts at various levels. Based on these efforts, the total number of archery participants in South Korea increased from 1,633 in 2005 to 2,800 this year.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun (center) is taking a commemorative photo with the 2024 Paris Olympic archery national team at Les Invalides in Paris, France. Photo by Hyundai Motor Company
Chairman Chung actively promoted entry into international sports organizations to increase Korea's influence in the global archery community. He is recognized for advancing Asian archery by supporting budgets and equipment for athletes from economically disadvantaged countries, dispatching itinerant coaches, holding coaching seminars, and implementing various development programs.
Additionally, to provide practical help for domestic archery athletes' training and competition, since the 2016 Rio Olympics, Hyundai Motor Group's R&D capabilities and advanced technologies have been actively integrated into training equipment and technique development. A representative example is the "personal training shooting robot," which helps improve athletes' game sense by engaging in one-on-one matches with them.
Since Chairman Chung took office as President of the Korea Archery Association, the South Korean national archery team has achieved remarkable success, winning 18 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 4 bronze medals in five Summer Olympics from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to the 2024 Paris Olympics. The relationship between South Korean archery and Hyundai Motor Group began in 1985 when Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo was appointed President of the Archery Association. This is the longest sponsorship in a single domestic sports association.
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