Lee Seung-won, the first president of the Professional Table Tennis Federation, said, "I will devote all my efforts to popularizing table tennis and developing the field." [Yeouido Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Seung-won, the first president of the Korea Professional Table Tennis Federation (KTTP), officially declared the emergency of Korean professional table tennis.

KTTP held the inauguration ceremony of the new president Lee Seung-won at the Grand Ballroom on the third floor of the Conrad Seoul Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 15th.

The event was attended by many guests wishing for the development of professional table tennis. People from the National Assembly and sports-related organizations, including Park Soo-hyun, a senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, Ha Hyung-joo, chairman of the National Sports Promotion Foundation, and Kim Taek-soo, president of the Jincheon Athletes' Village of the Korea Sports Association, attended. In addition, officials from each club, including the federation, male and female players, coaching staff, and the front, who formed their first season together last year, gathered together to help Korea's professional table tennis make a new start.

President Lee Seung-won is the first president of the Korea Professional Table Tennis Federation, which was launched last year, since it ran its first season under the general chairman. On December 18 last year, the Federation approved the appointment of President Lee Seung-won through a board of directors and a general meeting. Lee will lead the federation for a three-year term until January 2029.

"I'm Lee Seung-won, who takes on the heavy role of president of the Korea Professional Table Tennis Federation," said Lee, who opened his speech, "The value of quick judgment, concentration and fair play on a small table tennis table is the sports spirit that this era needs." "It is a task that our professional table tennis federation has overcome through reform with a new and continuous operating system, such as the gap between daily sports and elite sports and the somewhat sluggish national sports," he said. "We will devote all our capabilities to growing the board through the wider popularization of table tennis."

The event began with a pre-ceremony performance by the fusion Korean traditional music group 'Therium'. Following the welcoming speech by Hyun Jung-hwa, the chairman of the general committee, it was followed by a guest congratulatory speech, a performance to transfer the federation flag, an inauguration speech, and an appointment letter ceremony. Executives and officials who have been working hard to replace the chief in the first year of their launch, including Hyun Jung-hwa, Kim Hyung-seok, and Ahn Kook-hee, have received special letters of appointment and vowed to continue their roles. Grateful plaques were also delivered to sponsors who shared the 2025 season, including title sponsor "Dumu." Players, media, and fans who will participate in the league welcomed it with a big round of applause.

President Lee presented "Table Tennis for Everyone, Every Moment" as the vision of the federation. It has revealed a mid- to long-term blueprint with "One Table" aimed at integration and stability, "Clean Game" emphasizing transparent operation and trust, and "Green First" containing sustainability and social values as the three strategic pillars.

Lee said, "Table tennis is already an event with great content, passionate hobbyists, and global competitiveness. What is needed now is a box office hit through the connection between the right rings and innovation in the right place," he said.

During the first season of its launch in 2025, the Korea Professional Table Tennis Federation operated a professional table tennis league consisting of Series 1, Series 2, and Finals, making meaningful achievements. It was evaluated that it proved the possibility of professional table tennis through new attempts such as individual league structure centered on individual matches, unconventional prize money size, directing that combines special stadiums and sports presentations (SPPs), and self-produced broadcasting contents.

President Lee is an entrepreneur who has led the change of the traditional industry through an innovative platform business model and leads the Dokdo Love Gas Station Federation based on more than 1,000 affiliated gas stations nationwide. KTTP expected President Lee Seung-won's entrepreneurial leadership and experience in organization management to contribute to the stable growth and expansion of the professional table tennis league.

Korean table tennis has been challenging several times to launch the professional league. However, due to the absence of an independent operating entity and structural limitations, it has repeatedly been difficult to settle. The professional table tennis league, which was launched last year, is being evaluated as having found its direction only in this trend. Unlike before, the launch of an independent corporation called the Korea Professional Table Tennis Federation has clarified the subject of league operation, which is significant in that it laid the foundation for Pro Table Tennis to move to a sustainable structure.

The Pro Table Tennis Federation operated the 2025 season, the first year of its launch, as the general chairman and focused on verifying the league's potential. In addition, through the appointment of the president, the framework of the organization's operation has been completed, and a more mid- to long-term vision and blueprint can be drawn in earnest. With the inauguration of the president, the federation plans to further strengthen the institutional stability of professional table tennis and the continuity of the league.

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*This content was translated by AI.