World Taekwondo Council revises Statutes to meet highest international governance standards

The World Taekwondo Council today approved the revision of its

Statutes during its Extraordinary meeting as part of its commitment to upholding the very highest

standards of good governance.

The revised Statutes were developed based on a review of ASOIF-survey indicators and ASOIF

recommended best practices as well as engagement of WT’s Juridical Committee and Integrity

Committee. As a result of this process, World Taekwondo recommended key changes to term limits,

age limits, gender balance targets, Council structure, and IP guidance.

World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said:

"We have conducted a comprehensive review of our Statutes to meet the highest global standards of

good governance in sports. The proposed changes to the Statutes, which we have approved today,

are critical in supporting our efforts to ensure that World Taekwondo becomes one of the most

sustainable and innovative International Federations (IFs). Today, we gave a clear signal that we want

to proactively change and be a model IF for others to follow, instead of following others."

The Council approved the following amendments:

Term limits

oElected officials will only be able to serve a maximum of three consecutive terms in

any role before a break of at least four years.

oElected officials can also only accumulatively serve a maximum of three terms in any

one role.

Age limits

oFor new candidates to apply for elected positions they must be less than 70 years

old on the day of the election.

oFor current sitting members they must be less than 80 years old on the day of the

election.

Gender balance

oAs part of World Taekwondo’s commitment to supporting active participation of

women at all levels of taekwondo, the federation will seek to achieve gender equal

representation within its Council, Commissions and Committees by 2029.

Council Structure

oThe total number of Council members will remain the same at 37. However, the

number of appointed members will be reduced and the number of elected officials

will be increased by four. In doing so, World Taekwondo will strengthen democracy

and improve gender balance.

oAt least one elected Council member per continent will be female. The female with

the highest number of votes will be elevated to the position of Vice President.

Continental Unions

oTo mirror World Taekwondo, a minimum of two thirds of the Continental Union

Council members should be elected by their General Assembly.

oModel Statutes will be provided to Continental Unions by World Taekwondo with

the Continental Unions obliged to adopt the Statutes at the latest by 9 July to apply

new rules to the upcoming October election.

Intellectual Property

oWorld Taekwondo will issue new guidance on the use of its name and logo to its

members.

The revised rules will be submitted for approval by the General Assembly via an electronic vote.

Pending their approval, they will be applied at the President and Council elections to be held on

October 11, 2021, the day before the opening ceremony of the Wuxi 2021 World Taekwondo

Championships in China.

An ad-hoc Election Committee for the elections has been formed and will be chaired by Vice

President Ms. Aicha Garad Ali. Prof. Jean-Marie Ayer, chair of the Member Relations and

Development Committee, and Prof. Jung Heon Kim, chair of the Poomsae Committee, will also serve

on the Committee.

The election guidelines will be distributed by no later than 11 May and the deadline for receiving

candidatures will be 11 July. The elections will go ahead virtually if the pandemic worsens.

During the Council meeting, there was also a progress report on Wuxi 2021, with preparations

advancing very well.

A minute silence was held to pay respects to Gen. Fouly and Milan Kwee.

The next Council meeting will take place on 17 June.

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