Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) President Jun Byung-hun said that his "ultimate goal is to make esports an official Olympic event," according to Baek Byung-yeul of the KOREA TIMES. Established in '08 with nine countries signing on as founding members, the Int'l e-Sports Federation (IeSF) has its HQ in Seoul, Korea, and has been "holding an annual e-Sports World Championship. The IeSF has now "expanded its membership to 45 countries." Jun said, "Esports have been regarded as a next-generation business model throughout the world and this tendency can be witnessed in many places in Europe, Asia and North America as many countries and companies are increasingly investing in it. The IeSF has been working with its membership countries to solidify the status of e-sports, alongside other sporting events like baseball and football. Our biggest goal is to secure membership on the International Olympic Committee to make esports an official Olympic event." The IeSF has been "taking steps to earn recognition by the IOC -- it has been pursuing membership on the IOC SportAccord, an umbrella body for Olympic and non-Olympic federations." Explaining why esports are "so popular," Jun said that they can "easily harmonize with new technologies." He said, "Esports have a strong fan base amongst young people and have a huge growth potential as they can be harmonized with new technologies ranging from mobile devices to augmented reality technology" (KOREA TIMES, 10/31).
