Martial Art News
Visit taekwondotimes.com daily for all the latest breaking news...Un Yong Kim (1931-2017)
Un Yong Kim was elected president of
the Korean Taekwondo Association
in 1971. In 1973 Kim was elected the
fi rst president of the newly-formed
World Taekwondo Federation (now
WT). Th e following year he was
charged with corruption and sentenced
to two and a half years in prison. He
retired from the presidency of the
WTF in 2004. He served in other
capacities, notably as president of
the World Taekwondo Headquarters
(the Kukkiwon) and Executive
Board Member of the International
Olympic Committee (IOC).
Kim only trained privately for
a brief time in Tae Kwon Do
in the late 1960s. He tested for
yellow belt and was awarded an
orange belt. He was later awarded
an honorary 9th-degree black belt. Under his leadership TKD was recognized as an Olympic
medal sport for the fi rst time at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.GM Charles Stepan
Grandmaster and 8th-degree Tae Kwon Do black
belt Charles Stepan passed away quietly in his home
in Youngstown, Ohio, on September 22, 2017.
Grandmaster Stepan was a veteran of the Korean War. He was
also part of the early champion fi ghting days, winning the All
American Open twice in Madison Square Gardens in the early
1970s. In 2007 he was inducted into the Tae Kwon Do Hall of
Fame. As a pioneer writer of martial arts, Stepan authored over 100
articles and books, including for TKD Times. He was 86 years old.1010 January 2018 / taekwondotimes.com