Choi Jung-hwa (born 20 May 1954) is the only son of General

Choi Hong-hi Choi Hong-hi (9 November 1918 – 15 June 2002) was a South Korean Army general, defector to North Korea, and martial artist who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, albeit controversial due to h ...

, who is regarded as the founder of

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

Biography

Choi Jung-hwa studied Taekwon-Do since the age of 7 under his father and many prominent high ranking Taekwon-Do Masters during their visits and stays with General Choi. His claimed earliest recollections of training are around the time General Choi was appointed as Korea's Ambassador to Malaysia. Choi spent his early childhood training on the lawn of the Embassy compound, as there were no

dojang ''Dojang'' is a term used in Korean martial arts, such as Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Kuk Sool Won, and hapkido, that refers to a formal training hall. It is typically considered the formal gathering place for students of a martial art to conduc ...

s established at that point. He grew up in an environment surrounded by Taekwon-Do due to General Choi's schedule and work in spreading Taekwon-Do globally. Choi Jung-hwa trained with many high-ranking instructors during this period.

International Taekwon-Do Federation

Choi held the post of Secretary General and Vice Secretary of the ITF for several years until

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

's successor to the Presidency by the ITF members in 2001. He allegedly offered that General Choi should remain ITF President for the first 2 years of that term as to give him the opportunity to "retire with dignity" in 2003. General Choi Hong-hi died less than 12 months later. Choi Jung-hwa was promoted to 9th Degree Black Belt in 2005 and to the rank of Grandmaster. Choi prefers the title of President or Master to Grandmaster. He has been a regular visitor to Australia since the mid-1990s. After his father's death he formed his own

International Taekwondo Federation International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) is an international taekwondo organization founded on March 22, 1966, by General Choi Hong Hi (Korean: 최홍희) in Seoul, South Korea. The ITF was founded to promote and encourage the growth of the Kor ...

. Prior to forming his own Taekwondo organization he was a Vice Secretary of his father's ITF organization. Choi Jung-hwa still works extensively promoting Taekwon-Do around the world and is accredited with introducing and developing Taekwon-Do in many Eastern European countries such as Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Romania, the former USSR and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Under his leadership, the ITF historically returned to South Korea for its 2004 ITF World Championships. ITF has now commenced re-establishing itself in South Korea, Choi Jung-hwa's country of birth.

Emigration to Canada and conviction

In 1971 Choi Jung-hwa emigrated to Canada. In 1983 Choi was convicted in Canada on charges that he conspired to assassinate the President of South Korea

Chun Doo-Hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...

. He was sentenced in Canada, and was barred from South Korea (this has since been rescinded). He was convicted in absentia, and travelled as a Taekwon-Do instructor in the then

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

nations; mainly Yugoslavia and in the DPRK as well. It was not until several years later that he returned to Canada to finish his prison term.

References

External links

Choi Jung-hwa
on the ITF website.
General Choi Hong-hi
on the ITF website.
itf-administration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Jung-hwa 1951 births Living people Sportspeople from Jeju Province South Korean male taekwondo practitioners South Korean emigrants to Canada People convicted in absentia People convicted of attempted murder People convicted of treason against South Korea Sports executives and administrators