▲ Kim Jae-youl, president of the International Skating Union (ISU), delivers his acceptance speech after winning re-election at the 60th ISU Ordinary Congress held in Tenerife, Spain, on June 12.
Kim Jae-youl, president of the International Skating Union (ISU), has successfully won re-election.
President Kim was elected after running as the sole candidate in the presidential election at the 60th ISU Ordinary Congress held in Tenerife, Spain, today (June 12).
His term is four years, lasting until 2030.
With this, Kim will retain his status as an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and Executive Board member.
IOC membership and Executive Board positions are granted on the premise of holding the presidency of the respective International Federation (IF).
With this re-election, South Korea will continue to maintain its influence on the stage of international sports diplomacy.
In addition, Kim became the fifth South Korean to successfully win re-election as the head of an IF, following the late Kim Un-yong, former president of the World Taekwondo Federation (now World Taekwondo, WT); Choue Chung-won, the current WT president; Park Yong-sung, former president of the International Judo Federation; and Kang Young-joong, former president of the Badminton World Federation.
Kim will also continue his activities as a key member of the "Fit for the Future" working group, a core reform project prioritized by the IOC.
This program is a project that discusses the future direction of the Olympic Games, including the composition of Olympic sports.
Kim served as the president of the Korea Skating Union in 2011 while working as the president of Cheil Industries. Since then, he has been active as an international sports administrator, serving as the executive vice president of the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, vice president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, a member of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, and an ISU Council member.
In 2022, he was elected as the first non-European president in the history of the ISU, driving marketing innovation and organizational reform.
In particular, he was evaluated to have strengthened fairness by improving the short track refereeing system.
At last year's ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, he further enhanced the viewing experience for fans by installing LED rink boards and digital Kiss and Cry zones, and improving TV broadcast graphics.
These changes led to a box-office success at this year's World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, which drew over 127,000 spectators.
During the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the ISU's social media channels recorded 408 million video views, a roughly 37-fold increase compared to the Beijing 2022 Games.
Kim also launched the new Short Track World Tour to maximize the growth potential of short track speed skating, and worked to expand the foundation of ice sports by hosting ISU events in countries such as Thailand, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Georgia.
He also actively pursued athlete-centered policies.
As part of these efforts, the prize money for athletes will be more than doubled from the current $5.4 million to $11 million starting from the 2026–2027 season.
Kim is pushing forward "ISU Vision 2030," a reform blueprint built on five pillars: growth, opportunity, innovation, athlete protection, and unity. In 2024, he passed amendments to modernize the constitution and decision-making structure for the first time in ISU history.
Based on these achievements, Kim was elected as an IOC Executive Board member, which decides major IOC agendas, during the IOC Session held during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in February this year.
(Photo: Courtesy of ISU, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.