Name   Jang Ung Sex   Male Date of Birth   July 5, 1938 Place of Birth   Pyongyang Posts Held First vice chairman of the (North) Korea Sports Committee, vice chairman of the Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, member of the International Olympic Committee, senior adviser to the (North) Korean Taekwondo Federation, president of the International Taekwondo Federation, member of the 11th Supreme People’s Assembly Claim to Fame Sports diplomat Education Two years of English study at Foreign Language College (Pyongyang) Profile International Olympic Committee member Jang Ung represents his country in the international sporting arena and is a key official in charge of inter-Korean sports exchanges. His English skills got him his start in sports. He accompanied the North Korean team as an interpreter to the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, followed by promotions to assistant secretary of the Sports Committee and the National Olympic Committee in the 1980s. In 1993, Kim Yu-sun retired as the North’s member of the International Olympic Committee, leaving the post vacant for three years. During that time, Jang represented Pyongyang at the IOC General Assembly before his 1996 appointment as the official North Korean delegate to the sports body. In 1997, he was appointed head of the international relations bureau of the (North) Korean Sports Council. A year later, he was named vice sports minister, vice chairman of the North’s Olympic committee and first vice chairman of the Sports Committee. Jang also holds a number of other important posts. In 2002, he became president of the International Taekwondo Federation and chairman of the International Martial Arts Federation in 2004. In inter-Korean sports exchanges, Jang played a key role in having South and North Korea march together in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics. Then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch first proposed that the two Koreas enter together, spurring Jang and South Korean IOC member Kim Un-yong to discuss how. Jang’s role in inter-Korean sports exchanges began in 1985, when he led the North in sports talks with South Korea in Switzerland. From 1989 to 1991, he was vice chairman of the North’s delegation to inter-Korean talks on fielding a unified team to the 1990 Beijing Asian Games and on sports exchanges. In 1991, he led the North in inter-Korean talks on a joint team to the world table tennis championships in Japan. In charge of the North’s international sports relations, he attended the event with the unified team. Jang is known for his forthright personality and candid answers. His son Jong-hyok played goalie for the North Korean soccer team in the 2002 Busan Asiad.

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