Cho Seongmin, an athlete representative of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee running for the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Athletes' Commission, has officially kicked off his election campaign.

Candidate Cho Seongmin visited the cluster-specific athlete villages in Aichi Prefecture, Japan—where the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are taking place—on September 20 to conduct promotional activities.

As a national sailing team member, Cho Seongmin competed in the 2002 Busan, 2010 Guangzhou, 2014 Incheon, and 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, winning one silver and two bronze medals. He also participated in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

He currently serves as an athlete representative for the Korea Sailing Federation and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

The OCA Athletes' Commission is tasked with delivering Asian athletes' voices to the OCA and suggesting improvements for athlete rights and competitive environments.

During this event, a total of four athlete members will be elected: one male member for East Asia, one male member for Central Asia, one female member for West Asia, and one female member for Southeast Asia.

A total of three candidates are competing in the East Asian male member election that Cho Seongmin is running for, including former Japanese national track and field athlete Naoto Tobe and former Taiwanese national track and field athlete Yang Chun-han.

Participating athletes can cast a total of four votes—one for each regional category—regardless of their own affiliated region, and the election results will be announced within 24 hours after voting closes on October 2.

(Photo courtesy of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, Yonhap News)