Chang Kew Kim recently announced that he will be retiring from his position as UWW-Asia Council President.  He sent a letter to his colleagues and wrestling family expressing his gratitude for the opportunity to work in wrestling for over 30 years. 

Dear UWW Colleagues and Wrestling Family,

This comes as a note of thanks for making my time with wrestling memorable and fruitful. More than 30 years of working in UWW society had bestowed me with a great learning and exposure. I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for providing me such an opportunity working for wrestling as well as your support throughout the term of my working period in UWW and Asia Council.

As you know, wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world.  However, a few years ago, we have faced a critical period.  In 2013, IOC had dropped wrestling from Olympics. After such unacceptable decision via IOC, UWW took very concrete steps to overcome this crisis.  UWW had coordinated all actions from all wrestling federations around the world.  Fortunately, we were able to overcome such crisis with effective strategies, including modification of styles and rules, thereby including the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.

No one is available to talk about the Olympic history and spirit without wrestling.  But I strongly believe that it is a wake-up call for all wrestlers to make a constant effort for the development of wrestling. 

For creating new ideas and philosophies, we should intensely communicate and discuss together.
I have worked for wrestling for more than 40 years, almost half of my life, as national president, UWW Bureau member, and AAWC president.  During such long period, I was always honored to support the promotion of wrestling, particularly in the Asia region. Although my duty as a president of Asia Council is done now, I am not going to stop to supporting wrestling.

Again, I really appreciate the wrestling family to providing me the opportunity to work for wrestling. Particularly, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for UWW-Asia Council members.

Without your support and encouragement I could not have done my responsibility successfully over the last 27 years as president of UWW-Asia Council. I am grateful for all the memories made with you in my life.

Have a beautiful summer and thank you very much.

Chang Kew Kim
UWW-Asia Council