The International Olympic Committee has named Kim Yeon-koung, widely known as the "Volleyball Empress," the Asia regional winner of its Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Champions Awards.
On March 10, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee announced that it had selected Kim Yeon-koung, chair of the KYK Foundation, as the Asia regional recipient of the IOC GEDI Champions Awards. The committee cited her sustained work promoting gender equality, diversity and inclusion through sport.
The GEDI award recognizes individuals and organizations that drive gender equality, diversity and inclusion in sport. Each year the IOC names a global winner and one representative from each continent.
Yoo Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, said Kim’s efforts to put equality and inclusion into practice through sport have earned international recognition. He added the committee will keep working to ensure sport promotes positive social values.
Kim represented South Korea at three Olympic Games: London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. She carried the Korean women’s team to the semifinals in London and, in a rare move for a fourth-place finisher, was named tournament MVP. She again played a central role in Korea’s run to the semifinals in Tokyo.
Since retiring, Kim has focused on expanding women’s participation and leadership in sport while promoting fair and safe environments for athletes.
In 2024, she established the KYK Foundation to support young athletes and broaden access to sports. The foundation offers scholarships and training support for youths facing financial barriers, with a particular emphasis on lowering participation hurdles for female athletes and helping them remain active.
Kim also runs a national middle-school volleyball tournament, supplies equipment to school teams, and hosts youth clinics—efforts that expand playing opportunities for young athletes and help energize local sports programs.
She’s also active in helping female athletes transition into coaching and leadership roles. Through the TV program Rookie Coach Kim Yeon-koung, she has provided technical coaching and mentoring to retired or departing players, guiding them into coaching and other careers in sport.
Kim serves as an ambassador for the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and as a promotional ambassador for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) global conference. In both roles she stresses athlete education, fair play and safe sporting environments.
▶ What is the IOC GEDI Champions Awards?
The International Olympic Committee’s Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Champions Awards honor people who have advanced gender equality, diversity and inclusion through sport.
According to the IOC, the award is given each year to individuals or groups whose work has driven meaningful change in areas like expanding participation, improving representation in leadership and decision-making, creating safe sports environments, ensuring fair media portrayals, and distributing sports resources more equitably.
The awards are presented across six categories each year. The IOC names one global winner and selects one representative winner from each of the five continents: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
The GEDI Champions Awards built on the IOC’s Women and Sport Awards, launched in 2000. That program originally recognized efforts to increase girls’ and women’s participation in sport and later broadened to include diversity and inclusion under the GEDI framework.
Nominees come from recommendations by National Olympic Committees (NOCs), international federations (IFs) and other sports organizations. The IOC evaluates candidates based on the impact and sustainability of their work, awarding winners international recognition for promoting equality and inclusion through sport.
With GEDI, the IOC spotlights those who practice equality, diversity and inclusion in sport and underscores sport’s capacity to drive social change.
