WKBL president-nominee Shin Sang-hoon says, “We are best at discovering stars and expanding the base.”
WKBL president-nominee Shin Sang-hoon says, “We are best at discovering stars and expanding the base.”
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"I feel a sense of responsibility that is not enough to say that my shoulders are heavy."
Shin Sang-hoon, former CEO of Shinhan Financial Group, who will begin his three-year term as president of the Women's
Korea Basketball League (WKBL) in July, said, "It's a lot different from when I was in women's basketball before, but I will
do my best considering it as the last service of my life." He expressed his determination.
President-designate Shin Sang-hoon, who was elected as the 10th president of WKBL in May, is a prominent figure in the
business world, but he also has many ties to basketball.
President-designate Shin Sang-hoon is the person who took over the Hyundai women's basketball team in 2004 while
serving as the president of Shinhan Bank and created the beginning of 'Real Shinhan', which achieved six consecutive
league championships from the 2007 summer league to the 2011-2012 season.
President-designate Shin Sang-hoon, who met with Yonhap News on the 13th, set out discovering stars and expanding the
base as tasks to be solved during his term.
President-designate Shin Sang-hoon said, "I was shocked to see that Korea lost to Japan by more than 80 points in the
recent college basketball game. It is said that Japan has over 3,000 high school teams, but the reality is that Korea has less
than 20." pointed out.
He said, "Under these circumstances, it is unreasonable to try to beat Japan right away. Like Japan, we need to look at 30
or 40 years and change our sports and education policies in the long term."
President-designate Shin said, "There are 25 districts in Seoul, and we are considering a plan to increase the number of
people who enjoy women's basketball by starting 3-on-3 basketball at each district office level and using retired players as
coaches." Also, in the case of soccer, TV entertainment “It is said that the number of women who play soccer has increased
significantly due to the influence of the program ‘Goal Hitting Girls’,” he said. “We need to find out whether a similar
platform is possible in women’s basketball.”
They also plan to actively create factors that will expand the base for women's basketball by establishing a university team
in Seoul.
A seventh professional team is also a long-awaited dream for the women’s basketball world.
Currently, there are 7 teams competing in the highly popular women's professional volleyball, and compared to the 8
teams in women's handball, which was not launched as a professional sport, the scale of women's professional basketball,
which has 6 teams, has room to grow 슬롯놀이터 slightly.
President-designate Shin said, "Once I begin my term, I plan to promote the creation of new teams targeting iM Bank
(Daegu Bank), which received approval to convert to a commercial bank in May, and Jeonju City, Jeollabuk-do, which held
a groundbreaking ceremony for a new gymnasium early this month." “There are concerns that it will be difficult to have 7
teams due to this weakness, but considering the Asian quota and the introduction of a foreign player system, I think it will
be possible to have 7 teams,” he explained.
In particular, the mood in the women's basketball world is that the creation of additional banking teams can be expected
by taking advantage of the league's characteristics in which all major domestic banks participate and the strong personal
connections of the new president-designate, who has been involved in the economic world for a long time.
Quantitative growth is important, but qualitative improvement is also something that the new president-nominee should
focus on.
President-designate Shin said, “For the success of the league, star players are necessary,” and added, “When I look at
women’s volleyball and U.S. women’s basketball, which are both popular right now, I feel that star players play a big role.”
He emphasized, “The first condition to receive the love of fans is skill,” and added, “There must be thorough training to
improve skills.”
President-designate Shin said, "While serving as the president of Shinhan Bank, I installed a practice court at the athletes'
dormitory in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, which was my hometown at the time, and measured the players' free throw success
rates and provided incentives to the players." “It’s a way to receive the love of fans,” he said.
President Shin, born in 1948, maintained good health and looked much younger than his age.
He laughed and said, "I go to the gym like everyone else and try to go to the mountains often. I play golf sometimes, but
the distance is getting shorter than before, so I'm worried." He added, "After becoming president this time, people around
me say, 'Don't work too hard like before, think about your body. “They gave me advice that I should do it in moderation,”
he said, sharing the reactions of his acquaintances.
When he was the president of a bank or the CEO of a financial holding company, people around him were worried about
his work style, which involved being very motivated and paying close attention to every detail.
However, President-nominee Shin said, “These days, ahead of the start of my term, I am meeting with many people and
asking for advice, and it seems like there is so much to do that I don’t know where to start.” He added, “I have a big dream
as basketball is the biggest ball compared to other ball games.” “I will do my best to make that dream come true,” he said,
greeting women’s basketball fans.