In the near future, viewers "may be able to enjoy watching professional taekwondo practitioners' fierce battles on television," according to Nam Hyun-woo of the KOREA TIMES.
World Taekwondo Federation President Choue Chung-won said that the governing body "is seeking to launch an international pro-taekwondo foundation within this year, in a bid to increase its popularity." Choue: "It is time to expand the case in Mexico. The professional foundation would have a pro-league based on five-person team battles. Preparations such as setting up new rules or coming up with funding sources are in full swing." Choue said that professional taekwondo "is widespread in Mexico and competitions between cities are popular among fans." He said, "Sports that lose audiences' attention cannot survive, which means every sport needs to be more exciting and more entertaining. There were doubts over creating a pro-taekwondo federation, but we are pushing forward because there is a strong initiative among us that we have to keep changing ourselves constantly." Choue said that the World Taekwondo Federation "has long been thinking about establishing a professional league, but undertook the project recently after the sport in January booked a spot in the official program of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics" (KOREA TIMES, 3/23).
