South Korean figure skating star Cha Joon-hwan (23) and bobsled pioneer Won Yoon-jong (39) are competing to become candidates for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission elections to be held during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo. On the afternoon of the 26th, the Korea Sports Association held a meeting of the IOC Athletes' Committee Domestic Candidate Evaluation Committee at the Olympic Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and conducted a private interview with Cha Jun-hwan and Won Yoon-jong.

Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, who challenged the IOC Athletes' Commission, participated in a closed interview for a domestic candidate on the 26th and was being interviewed by reporters.

Members of the IOC Athletes' Commission, who are treated the same as IOC members, are the IOC's "sports diplomats" representing the voice of the athletes, and are voted for by athletes during the Olympic Games. It is expected that the election will be held during the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics in January ~ February next year, and two people in South Korea have expressed their intention to challenge.

The evaluation committee, which is composed of members of the Korean Sports Association's Athletes' Committee and the International Committee, external experts, and a nine-member evaluation committee, will comprehensively evaluate Cha Jun-hwan and Won Yoon-jong's experiences, qualities as members of the Games, and foreign language communication skills. On the day of the Games, one candidate was decided after an evaluation including an interview and a vote by the Athletes' Committee, and the IOC is scheduled to be notified by the 14th of next month.

Cha Jun-hwan won the silver medal in men's singles skating at the 2023 International Skating Union (ISU) World Figure Skating Championships, and at the recent 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, he decorated the first medal of the Korean men's single skater with gold, becoming the man who made the history of Korean figure skating men's singles skating. Having competed at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, he dreams of challenging South Korea for their first ever Olympic medal in men's singles in Milan next year and is elected to the IOC Athletes' Commission.

Won Yoon-jong, a bobsled rider who challenged the IOC Athletes' Commission, participated in a private interview with a domestic candidate on the 26th and was being interviewed by reporters

Cha Jun-hwan said, "I think that because I am an active player, I can hear the voices of the players better. I don't think there is much to be done with the experience of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games bid in Lausanne, Switzerland, for example. ”

Another domestic candidate challenging for the IOC Athletes' Commission is bobsleigh rider Won Yoon-jong. At PyeongChang 2018, Won Yoon-jong won silver medals with a four-man team and became Asia's first Olympic bobsleigh medal. From Sochi 2014 to Beijing 2022, he participated in three Winter Olympics, taking advantage of his experience in the activities of the International Bobsleigh Federation (IBSF) Athletes' Commission.

"I've been in three Olympic Games, I've won medals, I've been in events where I've represented the voices of the athletes, and I think I'm ahead in terms of experience," he said. As a player, I'm retired, so I can put all my energy into the election campaign in Milan. ”

Yoo Seung-min raised his hands to express his gratitude after winning the election for the president of the 42nd Korea Sports Association on January 14, 2025.

There are two members of the IOC Athletes' Commission who have been born in Korea. Taekwondo gold medallist at Athens 2004 was elected to the Athletes' Committee for the first time during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yoo Seung-min, the gold medalist in men's singles table tennis at the Athens Olympics and the current president of the Korean Sports Association, then served as a member of the Athletes' Commission from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to last year's Olympic Games in Paris. At last year's Paris Olympics, when Yoo Seung-min's term as a member of the IOC Games Committee ended, Park In-fei, the "Queen of Golf", participated in the election of the IOC Games Committee as a representative of South Korea, but was ultimately defeated.