Delivering his keynote speech at the event co-hosted by the WTF and the International Sport Cooperation Center of Korea (ISC), Choue spoke at length about the newly-launched THF, an initiative aimed at fulfilling the WTF’s social responsibility under Olympic Agenda 2020.

Choue formally announced the formation of the THF at United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York City last month, outlining in his address the world governing body’s plans to assist the global community with the growing refugee crisis.

The THF will discharge teams of instructors to teach taekwondo to young people in refugee camps around the world, keeping them active, while aiming to instil in them taekwondo's philosophy and values of Olympism, he announced.

Plans for the foundation are still being finalised with the WTF looking to officially establish it before the end of the year in the Olympic capital Lausanne.

At a meeting in Manchester earlier this month, it was confirmed that pilot projects are due to take place in Jordan and Nepal next year before the scheme is rolled out further afield.

"I consider myself not a Korean, but a citizen of the world," Choue said here.

"However - as a Korean passport holder - this new initiative is close to my heart.

"I remember the devastation of the Korean War, which raged from 1950 to 1953.

"I remember the many nations that rallied to the UN banner and to Korea’s aid in those dark years.

"Now, as a Korean who heads the global taekwondo family, I can return that favour by giving something back to less favoured nations.

"Once the lessons of the Jordanian and Nepalese pilot programmes have been absorbed, the foundation will upgrade its capacity, expand its horizons, and go into full operational mode in 2016.

"Thanks to the WTF’s international networks, thanks to our extensive experience, and thanks to the deployability of our sport, we are 'Good to Go.'"

Choue went on to confirm that John Walker, chairman of both the WTF Marketing Committee and Macquarie Group of Companies, has pledged that the proceeds from his new music album, due to be released in December, will be donated to the THF.

Walker, an investment banker by trade who has had a passion for music since his childhood, has also written a theme song for the foundation called "Flying Butterflies", which will feature on the album entitled "Rain Lands".

The International Sport Cooperation Conference is being held under the theme Sport for a Better World".

Offering insights on making a better world through sport, other significant figures attending the conference include Olympafrica executive director Thierno Alassane Diack and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Korea representative Dirk Hebecker.

Last month, the IOC announced that an emergency fund of $2 million (£1.5 million/€1.8 million) will be made available to National Olympic Committees to fund programmes aimed at helping refugees.

Additionally, sport was included as one of the main agendas in the UN’s recently-launched Sustainable Development Goals.


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