Kim was honoured by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) after a "successful and busy" 2016 highlighted by a second Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The awards were presented at the WTF Gala in Baku to players, coaches, referees, and organisations in order to "recognise their outstanding contributions to the development of taekwondo on the international level".

Kim has been a leading coach and master in South Korea and Canada for the last 30 years and is currently also President of the Taekwondo Federation of British Columbia.

"I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Master Song Chul Kim for receiving this prestigious award as the best male referee in the world in 2016," said Darlene MacDonald, executive director of Taekwondo Canada, 

"He exemplifies the highest level of professionalism and commitment in and out of the ring. 

"He is truly a positive role model and an inspiration to our Canadian taekwondo community."

McDonald added that it was "more than an individual award".

"It is representative of the exceptional quality of our referee programme, the outstanding leadership that is present in Canada, and the remarkable individuals that contribute to its success," she said.

"There is a large group of dedicated referees devoting their time and energy to all levels of taekwondo competition in Canada.

"Master Kim winning the Referee of the Year qward reflects all the hard work people in this community have been doing."

The women's referee of the year award went to Maria Merkouri of Georgia.

Great Britain’s double Olympic gold medallist Jade Jones and fellow Rio 2016 winner Ahmad Abughaush of Jordan claimed the respective female and male players of the year awards.