Korea's Seokhun Lee has been appointed as the National Performance Coach for Australia's taekwondo high-performance program.
Announced today by CombatAUS and Australian Taekwondo, Lee will commence the role in early 2022.
Lee comes to the Australian taekwondo high-performance ranks after a successful tenure as the national coach of Korea's taekwondo team and, more recently, head coach of the professional men's team Suyeong-gu.
Before this, Lee spent five years as the head coach of the professional women's team Dongrae-gu.
CombatAUS Chief Executive Officer, Alex Vallentine, is excited about Lee's appointment and is delighted to welcome him to CombatAUS' high-performance program.
"We're really pleased to have been in a position to attract a coach of this calibre to lead the taekwondo high-performance program in Australia."
"Seokhun possesses a huge amount of technical and tactical knowledge. His sports science background combines to provide high-level leadership and direction to the program and athletes."
Australian Taekwondo's Chief Executive Officer, Heather Garriock, echoed Vallentine's sentiments regarding Lee's appointment.
"It's been a lengthy recruitment process and the calibre of applicants very high. Australian Taekwondo is excited to welcome Seokhun to the National Performance Coach role and work together with CombatAUS to see our athletes achieve more success on the world stage."
With a PhD in Exercise Physiology, Lee brings a wealth of elite level coaching experience to Australia's taekwondo high-performance program, along with a strong understanding of the highly competitive international taekwondo circuit.
The core purpose of the National Performance Coach role is to provide world-class technical coaching to elite taekwondo athletes, and Lee is keen to make a start.
"I'm delighted to be joining Australia's taekwondo high-performance program as their National Performance Coach. I'm looking forward to coming to Australia and working with their athletes," said Lee.
Lee's international coaching achievements include Gold medals at the Grand Prix Final Moscow and the Grand Prix Rom and two Bronze medals at the World Championships in Manchester. He also has several international results as a former taekwondo athlete, including World Cup and Asian Championships victories.
Australia's taekwondo high-performance program, run by CombatAUS and in consultation with Australian Taekwondo, aims to increase the competitiveness of Australia's elite taekwondo athletes on the world stage and achieve sustainable podium success.
Together, CombatAUS and Australian Taekwondo provide contemporary technical leadership to ensure the strategic direction of Taekwondo in Australia excels.
CombatAUS manages the elite high-performance programs for Olympic combat sports in Australia.
Australian Taekwondo is the National Sporting Organisation representing taekwondo in Australia and a recognised Member National Association of World Taekwondo, Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia.
