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Yoon Kang-ro, one of Korea’s professional sports diplomats, will launch Asia’s first online sports newsletter later this week. | By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Yoon Kang-ro, a veteran official of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) and president of the International Sports Institute (ISI), now has a new role ― publisher of Asia’s first online sports newsletter.
“S.O.S.’’ (SpotLight on SportLife), single-handedly created by Yoon, will be launched later this week for weekly publication.
It will be electronically transmitted as a PDF file to members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), leaders of national Olympic committees, government, media and athletes, targeting anyone who has a stake in hosting or taking part in international sporting events.
The idea for an online vehicle for publicizing Asia to the global sports community came from Yoon’s Asian colleagues at the IOC.
``They felt news outlets in the United States and Europe, such as Gamesbid or SportIntern, lacked our voice and suggested that I start an Asian equivalent,’’ Yoon said during a phone interview with The Korea Times.
``What separates S.O.S from its Western counterparts is that it goes beyond delivering just sports news. It provides, above other things, an introduction to the unique cultures of Korea and our neighbors,’’ Yoon added.
Included in the first edition are cultural, humor and language segments, a 2009 sports calendar and the most recent updates on IOC activities.
Yoon’s initiative is both significant and timely, in a year filled with major events on the international sports scene. The election of an IOC president and 8 new IOC members, the selection of the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games and the 13th Olympic Congress in Copenhagen are all scheduled to take place this year.
Yoon has been a KOC official since 1982 and is now the deputy secretary general. He has also served as acting head of Korean delegations at numerous Olympic and Asian Games and was the secretary general of the 2010 and 2014 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games bid committee.
Having spent decades cultivating Korea’s potential as a sports powerhouse, Yoon has plenty to say on why Korea’s continued bids to host the Winter Olympics have come up short.
``We need to invest in fostering professional sports officials with diplomatic and language skills and enhance our image in the global sports community,’’ Yoon said.
Publishing an online newsletter is just one of Yoon’s multifaceted efforts in sharing his expertise in sports diplomacy.
Yoon is also the author of several publications, including the 2007 English-language book When Sport Meets the World Over Five Rings and contributes to various periodicals regularly about the issue. In 2004, he founded the International Sports Diplomacy Institute in Seoul, the first of its kind in Asia.
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