K-sport leadership, 25.4 billion won over 13 years
Problem
Korea is known as a sports powerhouse, yet its sports diplomacy is very weak. It is also the only country in the world that has moved from aid recipient to donor. So I wanted to train the next generation of sport administrators who would lead sports development in developing countries, help them lead sports development in their own countries, and, beyond that, bind them into a global network that grows Korea's positive influence.
Process
In 2012, at a meeting where the newly appointed Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism asked for my advice, I conveyed these thoughts, and with the Vice Minister's resolve, the first and largest international sport-for-development cooperation project in Korea was carried out as a national program.
To set this program apart, I designed a global platform teaching model that did not rely on SNU faculty alone but brought in distinguished professors from abroad and from other Korean universities.
Result
Over 13 years, SNU secured 25.4 billion won in cumulative funding and trained about 290 next-generation sport administrators from 59 countries, building a global network of leaders with strong ties to Korea. The graduate and country counts are those recorded in the August 2026 statement.