▲ (right) Professor Ha Hyung-joo of Dong-A University. (left) publisher Lee John-young
If given the opportunity, I would like to participate in the sports government organization.
I met Professor Ha Hyung-joo of Dong-A University in Seoul, who is a member of the 20th Special Committee on Balanced Regional Development of the Presidential Transition Committee. He was the only member of the transition committee to participate as a former athlete. Professor Ha is the dean of the College of Physical Education at Dong-A University, his alma mater. However, he supported Presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol and has since joined the presidential transition committee to challenge another round of victory he is aiming for.
Ha Hyung-joo, a physical education professor at Dong-A University in Busan, won the gold medal in men’s judo at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, breaking the expectations of the world judo community. Ha Hyung-joo became the top of judo with that pleasant victory, and even after he reached the top, he worked hard in sports as an active player. He won the silver medal at the 1985 World Championships, narrowly losing to Japan’s Hitoshi Sugai, but proudly won the gold medal at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games the following year by avenging Sugai.
After competing in international competitions with the Taegeuk mark from 1978 to 1988, he worked as a professor at Dong-A University, his alma mater, after retiring from active duty. Also, he is now aiming for a turnaround in 38 years to face a new opponent on the ground of his new life.
Professor Ha Hyung-joo declared his support for Presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol on October 18, 2021, along with 300 athletes in Busan. Since winning the gold medal at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, he has announced his retirement and worked as a professor at Dong-A University to foster younger generations of athletes. In the process, about 300 athletes gathered in Busan to declare their support in order to save the value of athletes in the presidential election while serving as the president of the College of Sports Arts and Sports Science.
He, who has lived as an athlete all his life, participated in the presidential transition committee with a determination to convey hope to the people and is aiming to turn the game around with the ambition of working as a participant of the government, not physical education.
Professor Ha said, “The most urgent tasks in the sports world are the expansion of sports facilities, reorganization of education, and the personnel appointment (deputy minister) of the sports department of former athletes. Professor Ha said he declared supports towards Presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol because he wanted to be a additional support to create a world where the greatest value of sports is taken for granted, saying, “I think the opportunity is equal, the process is fair, and the result is justly the value of sports.”
Although he is currently a member of the Special Committee on Balanced Regional Development of the Presidential Transition Committee, he says he has never considered himself a politician.
In the sports world, Professor Ha Hyung-joo’s participation in the presidential transition committee was a hot topic. For some reason, I don’t see any sports personnel on this transition committee. Perhaps that’s why Professor Ha’s participation in the transition committee seems to have become more of a topic as expectations grow that he will reflect the opinions of the sports community.
“I am a person who always lives with the pride of being an ‘athletic’ in my heart. There’s no way you don’t know that expectation.” During the 20th presidential election, he carefully reviewed his athletic pledges. The core of Yoon Seok-yeol’s sports pledge is “guaranteed national sports rights.”
“It is to establish an environment where anyone, from children to gray-haired seniors, can exercise freely. It’s not that different from what I imagined while teaching students at Dong-A University. Exercise is an essential element of life. Sports should take the lead in improving national health. I want to establish a system that promotes school physical education and continues to exercise even after becoming an adult. It’s an aging society. This is because living a healthy life is more important in the future.”
Professor Ha then emphasizes something that elected Yoon Seok-yeol emphasizes. “It’s the era of localization. Yoon means that there should be no alienation anywhere in the country. One of the biggest goals of the new government is to ensure that anyone can lead a happy life. I think the Special Committee on Balanced Regional Development will continue with the term of the new government. I was told I had to go with him.”
“There is an old dream in the sports world. In 1982, a sports department was created in preparation for the Seoul Asian Games and the Olympics. The Ministry of Sports was merged with the Ministry of Culture in 1993 and now belongs to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the sports department. However, even though he became a poet, film director, professor, politician, bureaucrat, and entertainer as the head of the sports department, he has never been an athlete. Athletes are looking forward to the birth of the first athletic head in 40 years.”
“I believe that the elected knows the value of physical education better than anyone else. I’m also sure you won’t turn a blind eye to the voices of the sports world. There are still many scholars and leaders who contribute to the development of the sports world. They’re much better people than me. Professor Ha Hyung-joo is one of the first candidates for the head of the sports department, a former athlete in 40 years, mentioned by athletes. I don’t want to turn a blind eye if I get a chance.” Professor Ha, who expressed his desire to change his position as the head of the sports world, which has been centered on politicians and businessmen, expressed his ambition to compete with the second vice minister of sports if the new government has a chance to win a new round.
Korea’s legendary judoka Hyung-Joo Ha was World bronze medallist in 1981, 1985 and 1987, all U95kg. He won the Asian Games in Seoul in 1986 U95kg. He won the Tournoi de Paris in 1984. He also won the golden medal in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. After he retired, he became professor in Dong-A University, which is his alma mater and ever since, he has been putting his best efforts to foster younger athletes.
