President of Korea Ice Hockey Association, Mong-won Chung to be International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Famer
- The induction ceremony to be held in Zürich, Switzerland in May -
SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mong-won Chung (Chairman of Halla Group & CEO of Mando Corp.), President of the Korea Ice Hockey Association, has been inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame.
The IIHF announced six new entrants to its Hall of Fame for 2020 on its homepage, among which President Mong-won Chung was the lone honoree in the builder category for his large role as a leader and administrator in the development of ice hockey.
Since beginning his relationship with ice hockey through the formation of the men's commercial ice hockey team Mando Winia (the predecessor of Anyang Halla) in 1994, President Mong-won Chung has been working for the last 25 years for the development and internationalization of ice hockey in Korea, making him the 5th person from Asia to be inducted to the IIHF's Hall of Fame after Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, Tsutomi Kawabuchia and Shoichi Tomida from Japan, and Boris Alexandrov from Kazakhstan.
In its announcement on his entry to the 2020 IIHF Hall of Fame, the IIHF praised Chung for his unwavering will, effort and dedication in his contribution to the development of ice hockey in both the Korean and Asian leagues, and introduced the path he took in detail as a man of ice hockey.
The federation emphasized in particular that the inclusion of Korean hockey teams in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics could not have happened without the steadfast resolve of Chung, and that the "symbol of peace" through the formation of a single women's ice hockey team between North and South Korea that received worldwide attention was only possible thanks to his vision, ambition, and unshakable dedication.
Chung steadfastly protected his team even in the 2000s when domestic men's commercial ice hockey teams in Korea began to unravel one after another, overcoming a difficult situation from a rapid contraction of the domestic base, by reaching out to commercial teams in Japan to make a breakthrough via launching an ice hockey league between the two countries. As a result, Asia League Ice Hockey was founded, which played a pivotal role in Korea's development of the sport.
Despite the decision in 2011 to host the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the IIHF was hesitant to allow Korea to automatically participate as the host country, deeming it an "underdeveloped wasteland" for the sport. In January 2013, President Chung became the President of the Korea Ice Hockey Association with entry into the Olympic Games as his foremost goal then, used a diplomatic network to convince the IIHF, and led the men's and women's ice hockey teams to qualification in September 2014 for the Pyeongchang Olympics.
The official ceremony for Chung's induction into the IIHF Hall of Fame will be held in Zürich, Switzerland on May 25, the last day of the 2020 IIHF World Championship.
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