GENEVA (AP) — The world governing body for ice skating is moving toward a presidential election Friday, avoiding the chaos that recently affected its Olympic partner sport of skiing.
Jae Youl Kim is expected to win reelection without opposition from International Skating Union members for another four-year term. This comes just months after his promotion to the International Olympic Committee’s executive board as the representative for winter sports.
The Samsung executive, who studied in the United States, first won election in 2026 right before the Milan Cortina Olympics, which delivered outstanding results on the ice.
Milan provided the backdrop for captivating personal journeys of American figure skating champions Alysa Liu and Ilia Malinin — though with vastly different outcomes — along with Dutch speed skating star Jutta Leerdam.
“Milan was a huge success, we couldn’t ask for anything better,” Kim told The Associated Press in an interview. “Venues were good and our skaters were incredible.”
He now serves as skating’s first IOC board member in 18 years, and may continue through the 2034 Utah Olympics during what promises to be a comprehensive evaluation of Winter Games sports and competitions.
Kim secured support from the eight-sport Winter Olympic Federations group while competing against Johan Eliasch, who was removed Thursday as head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).
A contentious FIS election was decided by just one vote following a campaign that revealed concerns within the skiing community about financial matters and future direction.
The ISU member federation has conducted peaceful congress sessions in Tenerife, concluding with a presidential election.
Kim’s family was instrumental in founding and operating a renowned daily newspaper, and he entered sports as an enthusiast who learned to skate on frozen waterways in Seoul.
“I want to make sure that skating remains as inspiring to as many people as it was to me,” he said during an interview at ISU headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Olympic movement’s home base.
He pursued political science and business studies at American institutions — Wesleyan, Johns Hopkins and Stanford — before joining Samsung. He subsequently headed the Korea Skating Union and served on the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games organizing committee.
Kim indicates that athlete welfare drives his leadership approach, noting he was among Leerdam’s 2.5 million Instagram followers even before her relationship and engagement with Jake Paul, the boxer and YouTube personality.
“Jake Paul is a very interesting man, very clever,” said Kim, referring to speed skating’s most recognizable supporter in Milan.
In figure skating competition, Kim celebrated Alysia Liu’s remarkable Olympic championship — “she is one of a kind” — and praised how Ilia Malinin responded to a devastating fall that cost him a medal, positioning him for possible redemption at the 2030 French Alps Olympics, expected in Lyon.
“I’m amazed how he carried himself after the free program,” Kim said. “He told me he’s going to be in Salt Lake City (in 2034), he’s determined.”
“They (the athletes) are the only assets that we have and we ought to make sure that we provide everything we can to make them the star.”
ISU plans to enhance arena lighting for dramatic effect and permit athletes to use official videos and photos for their social media accounts. This also translates to increased revenue.
This week ISU announced plans to more than double prize money for the upcoming season, increasing from $5.4 million to $11.1 million. Member federations will also receive an additional $2.1 million boost in travel expense assistance.
ISU allowed Russian competitors to attempt qualification and participation in the Milan Olympics, though their ban from other championships continues into its fifth year amid the ongoing military invasion of Ukraine.
“That discussion took a long time because there’s a lot of European perspective, which I understand,” said Kim, who became the ISU’s first non-European leader in 130 years when elected in 2022.
The complete return of Russian skaters was not addressed in Tenerife, though Kim said a newly formed ISU Council will be “looking at the right time to make the decision.”
This reflects a core philosophy. “I want to be able to look back at ISU 20 years from now and then I want to be able to say, ‘Hey, we did the right thing.’”
