Ha Hyung-joo named sports hero

[Anchor]

Ha Hyung-joo, who won a judo gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and inspired the entire nation with hope, has been inducted as a sports hero of South Korea.

Ha expressed his honor and shared his aspirations as the chairman of the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation.

Reporter Shim Byeong-il has the story.

[Report]

Ha Hyung-joo advanced to the semifinals by decisively defeating Japanese judo hero Mihara Masato twice.

With unstoppable momentum, Ha reached the finals and finally achieved his dream in LA in 1984.

["Korea's Ha Hyung-joo wins! Unanimous decision by all judges."]

At just 22 years old, he became an Olympic gold medalist, and a phone call with his family in his hometown dialect also became a topic of interest.

["(How do you feel?) Good. (Really? You worked hard.) Brother, you worked even harder supporting me. (Not at all.)"]

Following a grand welcome home parade, Ha Hyung-joo has been honored as a sports hero of South Korea for his contributions to national pride and bringing great joy to the people.

He is the 18th person to be inducted, following Sohn Kee-chung and Kim Sung-jip in 2011.

[Ha Hyung-joo/LA Olympic Gold Medalist: "I have long admired this award, and I believe it represents the recognition of many people."

Ha, who has been nurturing future talents at his alma mater Dong-A University, has been serving as the chairman of the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation since November last year, working for the development of sports in Korea.

[Ha Hyung-joo/Chairman of the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation: "We will support the expansion of (recreational) sports facilities and ensure that our elite athletes can fully demonstrate their abilities in various international competitions."]

His immediate priority is the successful launch of the nationalization of Sports Toto in July, while also pursuing sports pension reforms.

[Ha Hyung-joo: "We need to discuss this well with the relevant departments to make it a reality. (The maximum monthly pension for 33 years) has been 1 million won.)"]

In line with the foundation’s mission, Ha also plans to actively promote projects commemorating the Seoul Olympics.

This is KBS News, Shim Byeong-il.