New chairman Han Sang-ho, will it be a ‘name’ to save Korean curling in crisis?

An orthopedic surgeon who has treated patients all his life has to operate on a critically ill patient named ‘Korean Curling’. ‘Korean Curling’ patients who are suffering from all sorts of diseases are more difficult to perform than ever. Even this patient, I have to get up from my seat as soon as possible.

This is the story of Chairman Han Sang-ho, who was elected in the by-election on February 8 and became the new head of the Korea Curling Federation. Chairman Han, the representative director of Incheon Daechan Hospital, became the official designated hospital of the Korea Curling Federation in 2021 when Daechan Hospital became the official designated hospital, and he was appointed as the federation vice president and had a relationship with curling. 

But two years later, the situation changed drastically. As the former chairman resigned due to the deteriorating management of the chairman company, the festering wounds within the federation were also revealed. Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Han Sang-ho was suddenly nominated as a presidential candidate. In the end, he, who went out to ‘diagnose and treat the federation’s problems’, became a doctor to save Korean curling.

From a sponsor to a ‘doctor’,

the career of new chairman Han Sang-ho is unique메이저사이트. Chairman Han, an orthopedic surgeon, made a relationship with sports through volunteering and sponsoring in the sports field. At the time of the last 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, he served as the exclusive attending physician of the Olympic Sliding Center and was appointed as the team doctor of the International Olympic Committee in recognition of this achievement.

In particular, Daechan Hospital, where Chairman Han himself serves as the representative director, has become an official designated hospital for canoe, bobsleigh, and skeleton sports organizations as well as curling events. In other words, through the sponsorship of the medical sector, which is considered the most ‘sore finger’ in various sports organizations, it has been playing the role of a tall man in unpopular sports.

However, a major crisis occurred in one of the sports organizations that played the role of such a ‘sponsor’. The sudden resignation of the former president of the Korea Curling Federation and the hidden reality while adorning the appearance were revealed. Behind the ostentatious ‘normalization of curling’ based on the attraction of various international events, there was a ‘sickness’ to the extent of borrowing and paying salaries even to federation employees.

In the end, I had to overcome the situation of the federation, which was fine on the outside and empty on the inside. At the general meeting of the federation delegates held after the resignation of the former president last month, there were even voices calling for the return of all the international events that the former president had attracted. However, it was not appropriate to throw away an event that was childish at best because of a ‘vacancy in the head’.

In the end, both the exterior, which seemed fine at first glance, and the interior, which had already been rotten and damaged, had to be renewed. The international event, which is approaching two months from now, would have been impossible without such an overhaul. At the general meeting of delegates at the time, the candidate who was elected after going through a lot of trouble was the new chairman Han Sang-ho.

Of course, Lee Seung-woo, former vice governor of Jeollabuk-do and former director of the Korea Curling Federation, participated in a ‘surprise competition’ and the election flowed into the middle age, but the electoral college’s choice was a person who could put a knife to the broken federation. The new chairman, Han Sang-ho, went from ‘Long-legged Mister’ to a housekeeper who had to fix the crisis of the Korea Curling Federation.

Expect more stability than ‘promise’… Cooperation in the curling world is also needed

The reason why Korean curling needs a quick recovery is ‘world competition’. Right now, the Gangneung World Mixed Doubles and Senior Championships in April and the Seoul World Curling Federation General Assembly in September are the events that the Korea Curling Federation will welcome as a ‘hostess’, and in January next year, it must continue its support at the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics.

Fortunately, the new chairman Han Sang-ho promised to facilitate the smooth hosting of international events to be held in Korea in the future. In the end, it means that all efforts must be made to normalize the federation and hold successful events during a short term of two years, especially about 1/12 of the period.

In addition, Chairman Han has more tasks than simply ‘to save the Korean Curling Federation and the crisis event’. The factional competition within curling, which has not been alleviated, is also a task that requires reform within the federation, which leaves much to be desired. In the end, ‘quiet support’ is needed rather than ‘revealing’. There are many things that need to be done silently and quietly.

Chairman Han emphasized two-way communication, not one-way communication. This is because the biggest voice of regret about the former chairman was the story that “despite the fact that external events were held well, communication was one-sided, so there were not many opportunities to express opinions in the field.”

So, new chairman Han Sang-ho declared, “I will open my ears rather than my mouth.” One of Chairman Han’s promises right away was ‘opening a messenger group room with curling people’. It is an expression of his will to open his ears and make time to listen to the voices of the field, rather than making remarks and promises that can simply be empty checks.

For the past 10 years, Korean curling has been called the ‘tomb of the head’. It is not an exaggeration to say that Korean curling has been on top of gossip, such as not having a single president fill his term on time, and at the time of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the tournament was held without a chairman.

Fortunately, the current chairman’s term of office is about two years. It may be a short time for some, but for the head of curling in Korea, it is a long time because there are so many people who have not even been able to fill it.

Will the new chairman Han Sang-ho, or the ‘house doctor’, be able to build up Korean curling during the two-year rehabilitation period and finish his term honorably? Perhaps this is what everyone in the world of curling wants.