North Korea's long-serving IOC member Chang Ung dies at 87

Chang Ung, North Korea's long-serving member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has died, the committee said on its website on Wednesday. He was 87.

In a post, the IOC expressed its “deep sorrow” over the passing of Chang, who had been an IOC member since 1996 and later served as an honorary member.

“Chang devoted his whole life to the development of sports in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and to fostering dialogue within the Olympic movement,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said in a statement, using North Korea's official name.

“His efforts to promote cooperation on the Korean Peninsula demonstrated the power of sport to build bridges and inspire hope,” she added.

Born in Pyongyang in 1938, Chang began his career as a basketball player before transitioning into coaching and sports education in North Korea. He also held senior positions within the country's Olympic committee for many years.

He played notable roles in inter-Korean sports diplomacy, including the launch of the inter-Korean joint table tennis team in 1991. He also facilitated the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the North's International Taekwon-Do Federation and the South's World Taekwondo Federation at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, in 2014, according to the IOC.

Chang also contributed to the joint march of the two Koreas' delegations at the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. During the latter, Chang visited South Korea and told local press that he was “deeply moved” to see athletes from both nations marching together. He left before the closing ceremony due to health concerns.

One of his last public appearances was at the 134th IOC session in Lausanne, Switzerland, in June 2019.

Over the course of his IOC tenure, he served on several commissions, including for the International Olympic Truce Centre and for the public affairs and social development through sport, culture and Olympic heritage department.

Chang is survived by a son and a daughter, both of whom are involved in North Korea's sports sector.

The IOC said the Olympic flag will be flown at half-mast for three days at the Olympic House in his honor.

Yonhap

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