Power Corrupts - Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA)

Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA)

Governing body of WTF

Taekwondo Head Koo Gets Suspended Jail Term. January 15, 2004. http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200401/kt2004011517024611990.htm

SEOUL, South Korea -- Koo Cheon-seo, former president of the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA), was sentenced on Thursday to a one-year suspended jail term for mobilizing gangsters and offering bribes to KTA officials during the 2002 election for the top post of the association.

The Seoul District Court handed down the sentence to Koo, 53, saying that he was found guilty of illegal activities during the election. He once served as a lawmaker of the minor opposition Untied Liberal Democrats (ULD) during the 1996-2000 period. In December last year, Koo was indicted on charges of mobilizing gangsters to prevent supporters of his rival candidate from casting ballots on Feb. 5, 2002, and providing 20 million won to the KTA’s then vice president in a bid to buy votes. According to the prosecution, Koo won votes from 17 delegates, but other eligible voters could not enter the polling place at a hotel in Seoul because some 300 gangsters blocked the door.

Koo immediately quit the job following the indictment. He was to serve the remaining three years of Kim Un-yong’s term after Kim was forced to step down in the face of growing dispute within the local Taekwondo circles in November 2001.The court delayed the ruling on three Taekwondo officials, including Lee Seung-wan, who were involved in the case. Lee, 63, concurrent head of a right-wing group, was indicted for collaborating with Koo in wielding violence against supporters of the rival candidate.