Governance in World Taekwondo Federation (WTF): Evaluation of the WTF Governance System Before and After 2004 = Governance in World Taekwondo Federation (WTF): Evaluation of the WTF Governance System Before and After 2004

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the governance system of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) before and after 2004, to illustrate the impact of that governance system on Taekwondo as an Olympic Sport, and to examine the similarities and differences in the two WTF governance systems.
Methods: We investigated the achievements of both governing bodies during the last 42 years. A questionnaire based on Basic Indicators for Better Governance in International Sports (BIBGIS), interviews, and organizational documents were analyzed to compare the two WTF governance systems and analyze their impact on Taekwondo as an Olympic sport.
Results: The results of good governance in the WTF before 2004 showed that all the dimensions were under the medium score except for solidarity and organization transparency. The highest score was for solidarity with 21 out of 36. The mean value was 2.33 out of 4 and the percentage was 58.33%. The lowest score was for the stakeholder’s representation with only a score of 8 out of 36. The mean value was 0.88 out of 4 and the percentage was 22.22%. The results of good governance in the WTF after 2004 showed all the dimensions were over the medium score except for transparency. The highest scores were for organization transparency and solidarity with 27.5 and 27 out of 36, respectively. The mean values were 3.05 and 3, respectively. The percentages were 76.38% and 75%, respectively. The lowest score was for the stakeholder’s representation, which was only 15 out of 36. The mean value was 1.66 and the percentage was 41.66%.
Conclusions : The results of the present study indicate that the WTF before 2004 played a considerable role in spreading Taekwondo worldwide. It also played the major role in making Taekwondo an Olympic sport. Meanwhile, it indicated that the WTF gave priority to certain dimensions like solidarity and disdain in others. The results of the present study also illustrates that the WTF after 2004 succeeded in the betterment of most dimensions of governance. Almost every score doubled in the seven dimensions, the exceptions being solidarity and organization transparency where the increased scores were not as high. This was because the solidarity dimension has already high before 2004. We conclude that despite the betterment in the WTF’s good governance, some dimensions can still be improved.