Korean Paralympic Committee President Kim Sung Il led the tenth anniversary celebrations ©KPC

A special celebration has been held at the Olympic Park in Seoul to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Korean Paralympic Committee (KPC).

More than 300 participants took part, including Kim Sung Il and Majid Rashed, the respective Presidents of the KPC and Asian Paralympic Committee.

They were joined by South Korea's Sports and Tourism Policy Director of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jae Won.

The ceremony included presentations of the commendation for KPC founders, KPC Awards and the Declaration Ceremony of the new KPC Vision.

The KPC claim that since 2006 the participation of sports among the disabled in South Korea has risen from 3.2 per cent in 2006 to 14.1 per last year. 

The numbers of staff working in relation to Para-sports has also increased from 30 in 2006 to 600, including 17 provincial Para-sports associations and 31 affiliated Para-sports organisation in 2015.

The Korean Paralympic Committee has celebrated its tenth anniversary with a special event in Seoul ©KPC
The Korean Paralympic Committee has celebrated its tenth anniversary with a special event in Seoul ©KPC

South Korea finished 12th in the overall medals table at London 2012, winning a total of 27 medals, including nine gold.

Their best performance since the KPC was founded had come at Beijing four years earlier when they won 31 medals, 10 of them gold. 

At the Winter Paralympics in Sochi last year they failed to win a medal.

At Vancouver in 2010, South Korea won a silver medal in the wheelchair curling. 

They will be looking for an improvement when South Korea hosts the next Winter Paralympics at Pyeongchang in 2018. 

On the eve of the KPC’s 10th anniversary, the International Para-Sports Seminar was held at the Olympic Park, built for Seoul 1988, where the topics included the “Legacy of Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games".

The seminar was hosted by the KPC and organised by the Korean Society of Adapted Physical Activity and Exercise.

The Seminar covered several other topics, including “Current Status and Challenges of Para-Sports in Asia,” and “Inter-Korean Reconciliation and Exchanges Through Para-Sports".



Related stories
June 2015: Pyeongchang 2018 still has "work to do" in preparation for Paralympic Games
March 2015: Kim Yuna among stars to help promote Pyeongchang 2018 "Paralympic Day"
March 2015: Pyeongchang 2018 completes Accessibility Manual to "accelerate" Winter Games preparations
February 2015: Pyeongchang 2018 urged to step up Paralympic preparations in "critical" 12 months
July 2014: Pyeongchang launches awareness programme ahead of 2018 Winter Paralympics