The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) is rushing to find a replacement for Chairman Kim Jung-tae, whose term expires in March.
Chairman Kim is gaining momentum as it has recently been confirmed that he has given up his intention to serve a second term. Chairman Kim reportedly announced that he has no intention of serving a second term in the KLPGA executive team, which visited in mid-January for the New Year's greeting.
KLPGA's acceptance of the new chairman system, not Chairman Kim's second term, is considered a kind of self-rescue measure considering the current crisis situation. The middle ground is that a powerful owner entrepreneur should lead the association under difficult economic conditions internally and externally.
As the news that Chairman Kim has given up his intention to serve a second term has been reported, critics of multiple figures are circulating. According to Article 12 of the KLPGA Terms and Conditions, the president of the association is elected at a general meeting consisting of delegates. Personnel recommended by members are approved when the board of directors presents them to the general meeting as an agenda.
Founded in 1978, the KLPGA has never been elected through the primary from the first Han Jang-sang to the 14th Kim Jung-tae. All of them have been appointed as candidates.
KLPGA director L, who asked not to be identified, said, "It is natural to bring the presidential candidate with respect, especially if he is a businessman," adding, "In that context, although there are no regulations, it is customary for the board of directors to propose a single agenda through prior coordination if there are multiple candidate recommendations."
It is certain that the 15th chairman will also be appointed in the form of an election. There are some points that must be checked before doing so.
First of all, it must be a trustworthy greeting from members. It is the icing on the cake if it is a person who can be objectively verified. Otherwise, it is obvious that there will be constant noise throughout his term.
Second, recommendations for candidates should be made thoroughly through active communication with the KLPGA executive and board members. Otherwise, it should not be taken in the form of unilateral notification out of the blue. This is because it can be seen as a closed-door tie with interest groups that have private interests in mind rather than the development of the KLPGA.
In this regard, the role of KLPGA's executive and board members, who are infinitely responsible for the appointment of the chairman, is more important than ever.
Third, he should explain to the presidential candidate all the procedures related to the appointment and what he wants to accomplish during his term in office. He should never rush into persuasion by saying, "Everything is ready, so you just have to accept it."
Lastly, the most important thing should be appointments with the continuous development of the senior tour and the second wife, the Dream Tour. The senior tour is a competition hall for legends who have made the KLPGA tour popular. Revitalizing the senior tour should never be overlooked as a courtesy to senior professionals.
The Dream Tour is the foundation that supports the KLPGA tour. The KLPGA tour can only develop further if promising players are discovered and introduced here. In this regard, the tour should give warmth to the Dream Tour, which was relatively depressed compared to the KLPGA tour until last year.
Perhaps, it would be no exaggeration to say that the revitalization of the senior tour and the Dream Tour are projects that the new chairman should focus on the most during his tenure. It is for the following reasons.
From 2017 to 2020, when the 13th president was inaugurated, the Dream Tour had a record-breaking boom. For the past four years, the Dream Tour has maintained 21 to 22 championships annually, with a total prize money of 2.38 billion won to 2.81 billion won. Players who aimed to acquire seeds for the KLPGA tour had to welcome the increase in the size of the tournament, which allowed them to ease the burden of participation expenses.
The senior tour was no exception. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, the total prize money of 1 billion won was the smallest with 10 competitions. In 2017, 17 competitions were worth 1.45 billion won, and in 2018 and 2019, 15 and 12 competitions were held, with the total prize money worth 1.3 billion won.
However, with Chairman Kim Jung-tae's inauguration, the senior tour and the Dream Tour shrank by a large margin. As the Dream Tour has shrunk in size every year, total prize money of 1.69 billion won (1.69 million U.S. dollars) was paid to 20 competitions last year.
The situation was even more serious in the senior tour. Among them, there were only two in 2021, a total prize money of 130 million won, which was the worst level ever. Although the amount increased to 640 million won for nine tournaments in 2023 and 730 million won for nine tournaments last year, more than half of them were either invested in the KLPGA's own budget or hosted by SBS Golf Channel under broadcasting rights contracts.
This was a predictable outcome. As the former chairman is an owner-business owner, he could attract organizers or contribute his personal funds to host the event, but Kim Jeong-tae, a financier-turned-chairman, was constrained due to various reasons. Rumors say this was why he was discouraged from serving consecutive terms.
The KLPGA announced the KLPGA tour schedule for this season on Tuesday. The total prize money for 30 competitions is about 32.5 billion won (30.217 million U.S. dollars), and the average prize money is about 1.08 billion won (1.04 million dollars) 메이저사이트. The number of competitions in Korea is down one from last year, but the number of competitions held in Korea is the same as last year's 29. The average prize money for a competition also increased by 10 million won from 1.07 billion won (1.04 million dollars) last year.
The KLPGA Tour's status can be assessed in that it has grown in quality at a time of difficulties both domestically and internationally. In other words, the KLPGA Tour is assessed to have established a firm position to remain unwavering even in the face of crisis.
Nevertheless, they should never be relieved. If the Dream Tour and the Senior Tour continue to grow at a standstill, it is clear that the impact will be directly affected by the KLPGA tour.
In this regard, it is natural to appoint an owner entrepreneur who is active in the growth of the senior tour and the dream tour and has a deep affection and understanding of women's golf as the chairman.
The 15th chairman of the KLPGA will be decided at the regular general meeting in March. Attention is focusing on which figure the KLPGA Tour, which aims to lead the association for four years, will be appointed as the head of the association.