Shin Sang-hoon Takes Office as WKBL Commissioner
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Shin Sang-hoon Takes Office as WKBL Commissioner… “I will Increase League Competitiveness and Expand the Base”
Shinhan Bank Women's Basketball Team Founding Key Player... "I Will Work to Create 7 Teams"
Shin Sang-hoon (76), the president of the Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL), who will lead the administration of women's professional basketball in Korea for the next three years, announced that he will work to increase the league's competitiveness and expand its base.
On the 3rd, President Shin was officially inaugurated as the 10th president of the WKBL at an inauguration ceremony held at the Libera Hotel Cheongdam in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
The new president was elected as the new WKBL president for a three-year term at the WKBL extraordinary general meeting held last month. 토토사이트 추천
President Shin, who graduated from Gunsan Commercial High School and Sungkyunkwan University, joined Shinhan Bank in 1982 and served as an executive director of Shinhan Financial Group, president of Shinhan Bank, and CEO of Shinhan Financial Group.
In 2021, he served as the CEO of the Financial Industry Public Welfare Foundation.
In 2004, when he was the president of Shinhan Bank, he took over the Hyundai Women's Basketball Team and took the lead in establishing the Shinhan Bank Women's Basketball Team, which also gave him a connection to the basketball world.
Shinhan Bank achieved six consecutive league championships from the 2007 summer league to the 2011-2012 season, and stood tall as a powerhouse in women's professional basketball, called 'Real Shinhan.'
President Shin said, "This place today is a great honor for me.
He expressed his feelings, saying, "As the club owner, I feel a sense of gratitude but also a heavy sense of responsibility for having been given the opportunity to pursue the dreams I was unable to fulfill."
Commissioner Shin Sang-hoon, who diagnosed that “not only is Korean women’s basketball losing its international competitiveness, but its position in domestic professional sports is also shrinking,” emphasized that “we are at a point where we must change to keep up with the rapidly changing trends in global basketball.”
When explaining the direction of operation, he first said, “We will create a competitive league that fans will come to.”
In the upcoming 2024-2025 season of the Women's Professional Basketball League, an Asian quota system will be implemented for Japanese nationals, including players from the Japanese Women's Professional Basketball W-League.
Commissioner Shin said, "The situation has changed so that foreign players and domestic players are competing for starting positions.
The competition between clubs that have strengthened their power and between players will heat up the league even more," adding, "We will expand the Asian quota further in the future and transform it into a challenging league with an international sensibility."
In a Q&A with reporters, he said, "Foreign players need to come in to improve the players' skills," and "Son Heung-min said that he practiced 1,000 shots a day with his father, so our players also need to make continuous efforts to improve their skills.
I plan to order each club to increase the amount of training."
President Shin, who also revealed his intention to increase the number of spectators through differentiated events and marketing activities, specifically explained, "During my term, I will ensure that the number of spectators increases by more than 50% compared to now."
President Shin added, "We will focus on expanding the base with the six teams, increase the social value of women's basketball, and take the lead in publicizing the importance of women's sports."
Regarding the 'foundation of a seventh team,' he said, "It is realistically difficult and it is difficult to speak specifically, but I do have the idea," and "I will work toward the creation of a seventh team."
Representative players from each team, Kim Dan-bi (Woori Bank), Park Hye-jin (BNK), Bae Hye-yoon (Samsung Life Insurance), Lee Kyung-eun (Shinhan Bank), Kim Jung-eun (Hana One Q), and Yeom Yoon-ah (KB), were present on site that day and presented President Shin with a congratulatory bouquet of flowers.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon did not attend in person, but congratulated President Shin on his inauguration through a video message.
Minister Yoo said, "Chairman Shin is the one who led the rise of Korean women's basketball in the 2000s.
Shinhan, which was at the bottom of the league, won the championship for six consecutive years, which is still remembered as a monumental achievement," and added, "I hope that Korean women's basketball will unfold a brilliant second heyday with new perspectives and various attempts now that Chairman Shin has taken office."