[0709] Shincheonji Taekwondo Team Wins Awards at Kim Un-yong Cup International Tournament... Brightens Korea's Taekwondo Prestige

[0709] Shincheonji Taekwondo Team Wins Awards at Kim Un-yong Cup International Tournament... Brightens Korea's Taekwondo Prestige

- All members win awards, multiple champions including MVP... Proves skills on international stage and contributes to cultural diplomacy

Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Chairman Lee Man-hee, hereinafter referred to as Shincheonji Church of Jesus)'s taekwondo representative team achieved excellent results at the “2025 Kim Un-yong Cup International Open Taekwondo Tournament,” proving their skills on the international stage. This achievement is being evaluated as having made a  meaningful contribution to elevating Korea's status in the field of global communication and cultural diplomacy through taekwondo.

The “2025 Kim Un-yong Cup International Open Taekwondo Tournament” held from the 5th to 8th at Gijang Indoor Gymnasium in Busan Metropolitan City was a large-scale international tournament with approximately 3,000 athletes from 45 countries participating. The competition events consisted of official poomsae, sparring, power breaking, and taekwon gymnastics, subdivided by gender, age, and weight class, resulting in fierce competition.

Shincheonji taekwondo representative team had 12 athletes compete in two events - official poomsae and power breaking - and demonstrated excellent skills. Among the 11 athletes who competed in the individual official poomsae on the first day, all won awards with 2 first-place winners (Lee Jun-wi and 1 other), 4 second-place winners (Shin Woo-ju and 3 others), and 5 third-place winners (Im Chang-hyeon and 4 others), showcasing high-level skills.

In particular, the official poomsae event was divided into individual, team, and pair categories by age among holders of Kukkiwon-certified dan (poom) certificates. Shincheonji representative team athletes showed balanced performance across all categories and drew attention from international tournament participants.

On the second day, in the power breaking event, athlete Kong Du-hyeon who participated in the side kick/back kick breaking category achieved outstanding results by winning both first place and MVP. This event is a competition where participants break breaking materials installed on breaking stands at a certain height using the blade of the foot or heel, requiring high-level concentration and physical strength.

After receiving the award, athlete Kong Du-hyeon shared his thoughts: "While preparing for this tournament, I was worried about the results because my training was insufficient due to injury, but as I was competing as a representative of my affiliated team, I prepared with my best effort. When my name and my team's name were called at the award ceremony, I felt great fulfillment and a sense of responsibility."

Director Kim Deok-hoon stated, "I believe that all participants winning awards and achieving excellent results in the breaking events was accomplished with God's help. The Shincheonji taekwondo representative team will continue to challenge new fields and supplement our shortcomings to show good performance on even broader stages in the future."

In this way, Shincheonji taekwondo representative team has been consistently demonstrating their skills in domestic and international competitions. At the '2024 Mungyeong World Taekwondo Festival' held last year, 18 members participated with 5 winning awards, particularly taking first place in high jump front kick and power breaking categories, continuing remarkable achievements year after year.

Meanwhile, the 'Kim Un-yong Cup International Open Taekwondo Tournament' is held annually to honor the legacy of the late President Kim Un-yong, who globalized taekwondo and elevated it to an official Olympic sport. Co-hosted by Kukkiwon and World Taekwondo, it has established itself as a center for international sports diplomacy.

Taking this tournament as an opportunity, Shincheonji Church of Jesus plans to continuously develop activities for nurturing athletic talent as well as cultivating healthy believers.