▶ Interview
SOO KYUNG LEE, President of the Korea Skating Union (Department of Physical Education, Class of 2003)
The Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics marked a historic moment for Korean sports, as the nation delivered strong performances across the board rather than in only a handful of events. Behind this achievement stood SOO KYUNG LEE, President of the Korea Skating Union, whose years of experience as an athlete, natural ability to connect with people, and meticulous preparation helped shape the journey. This is the story of a leader who realized in her forties the dreams she once imagined for her sixties, transforming a long-held vision into reality.
“First” is a word that features heavily in SOO KYUNG LEE’s career: she is the first former athlete to serve as president of the Korea Skating Union and the first woman—and first former athlete—to lead Korea’s Winter Olympic delegation. Such milestones were the result of a future she had carefully envisioned since childhood. Studying physical education at Seoul National University, working as a data operator for the International Skating Union (ISU), and serving as an international judge were all part of that long-standing blueprint.
“I’ve always liked planning my life in thoughtfully defined stages. Becoming president of the Korea Skating Union and leading Korea’s Winter Olympic delegation were dreams I had imagined accomplishing in my sixties. So when those opportunities arrived nearly twenty years earlier than expected, I wrestled with the decision for quite some time. But I also realized that opportunities like these are not ours to summon at will. With the ideas and energy I have now, I felt I could devote myself more fully to serving in these roles.”
Today, Soo-kyeong juggles many responsibilities: CFO of the family-run Sambo Motors Group, president of the Korea Skating Union, wife, and mother. For someone who had long pursued perfection and structured her life according to carefully laid plans, taking on unexpected responsibilities was far from easy. Eventually, however, she developed a new strategy: letting go of the obsession with doing everything perfectly and learning instead to switch flexibly between roles as situations demanded.
“There was a time when I believed I had to do everything perfectly. These days, once something is about 80 percent there, I’m ready to move on to the next stage. I focus on the big picture while trusting the rest to the people I work with. I’ve learned that when a team is built on a solid foundation, its members naturally step in to fill the gaps. Above all, the journey toward the 2026 Winter Olympics taught me a great deal about communication and what it takes to build a closely knit team.”
Trusting others and knowing when to let go not only allowed Soo-kyeong to achieve her ambitions nearly two decades ahead of schedule but also transformed her into a leader of vision and substance. Yet these qualities did not develop overnight. They took shape gradually during her years at Seoul National University, which served as a kind of laboratory for life itself.
As the first former athlete and first woman to lead Korea’s Winter Olympic delegation, SOO KYUNG LEE played a pivotal role in the team’s success at the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
“Although I majored in physical education, I actively sought out courses in fields such as science and engineering. I also immersed myself in a wide range of extracurricular activities, joining the swimming, tennis, and golf clubs. Confining myself to a single way of thinking never appealed to me. Looking back, I believe those experiences broadened my horizons and introduced me to people who viewed the same world from entirely different perspectives. The relationships I built during my university years remain among the greatest assets in my life today—as an athlete, a business leader, and a person.”
For Soo-kyeong, university became a place where she could broaden her world beyond the boundaries of her major. Founding the Seoul National University skating club represented one of her earliest attempts to chart an unexplored path. Shortly after entering university, she decided to establish the club and devoted much of her sophomore year to recruiting members. She reached out to Seoul National University students she had met at skating rinks during her teenage years, and whenever she spotted someone carrying a skate bag on campus, she would instantly approach them and encourage them to join.
This involved far more than simply gathering members. It was an ongoing process of persuading former athletes—many of whom had stepped away from the rink to focus on academics—to return to the ice with a renewed sense of purpose. Those efforts ultimately led to the founding of the Seoul National University skating club in 2005, when she was a junior. The experience also laid the foundation for Soo-kyeong to transform ideas into reality, navigate conflicting interests, and grow into a more capable leader.
SOO KYUNG LEE first distinguished herself as a strategist and administrator through corporate management, but it was the 2026 Winter Olympics that brought her leadership into the public spotlight. By reorganizing on-site administrative systems to better support athletes, she focused on creating an environment where younger athletes could fulfill their potential. Equally significant is her ability to redefine the role beyond the symbolic significance of being the first former athlete and first woman to serve as head of delegation.
“What brings me the greatest sense of fulfillment is that there were no major incidents during the Games. Drawing on areas where I had seen room for improvement while leading teams at international competitions, I developed a crisis-response manual. I’m also proud that the entire delegation—from village chief Kim Taek-soo to the youngest athletes—shared such a warm and supportive atmosphere throughout the Games. In the end, the experience reminded me once again that people are always at the center of every meaningful endeavor.”
Soo-kyeong’s ability to move seamlessly across the many layers of her life stems from her disciplined self-direction, strong execution, and deep regard for people. It was also through persistence tempered by flexibility that she was able to realize, nearly two decades ahead of schedule, goals she once believed she would not reach until her sixties. Rather than waiting for the future to arrive on its own, SOO KYUNG LEE continues to open each new chapter for herself. All of this makes what lies ahead even more intriguing.
“I encourage people not to place limits on
their own potential but to imagine the future
they truly want for themselves.
Imagination is not a vague dream—it is the
most powerful energy for transforming
what we envision into reality.”
