Colleagues at World Taekwondo gathered in Seoul on 26 October to remember Slavi Binev, a former competitor and national-team coach who went on to represent Bulgaria on the World Taekwondo Council.
Emir Hamdan
World Taekwondo pays tribute in Seoul to the Bulgarian federation president and Council member, remembering a career spanning competition, coaching and international leadership.
Colleagues at World Taekwondo gathered in Seoul on 26 October to remember Slavi Binev, a former competitor and national-team coach who went on to represent Bulgaria on the World Taekwondo Council.
Binev died in Sofia on 24 October, aged 60.
At the Seoul memorial, World Taekwondo president Chungwon Choue paid his respects alongside secretary general Jeongkang Seo and staff, according to Korean Taekwondo publication MOOKAS. Its report described an altar set up in Binev’s memory and the organization’s condolences to his family, friends and the Bulgarian Taekwondo community.
Born in Sofia on 10 December 1965, Binev knew Taekwondo as a competitor and a coach before becoming an administrator. In his profile for the 2025 World Taekwondo election, he recalled winning multiple Bulgarian titles, coaching the national team and working with athletes at CSKA.
By the time he stood for the World Taekwondo Council, he had spent nine years as Bulgarian federation president. He was elected to the Council in 2025 and, in May 2026, was unanimously re-elected to lead the Bulgarian federation for another five years.
His responsibilities extended to the European Taekwondo Union and the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. He also served on Kukkiwon’s board, joining in 2019 and being re-elected in 2022. Outside sport, he had been a member of both the European Parliament and Bulgaria’s National Assembly.
Binev’s international work also involved bringing athletes to Bulgaria. Sofia hosted the 2022 World Taekwondo Cadet Championships, and he continued to promote the Bulgaria Open as part of a longer-term effort to strengthen the country’s place on the international calendar.
Yet in a February 2026 interview with MASTKD, he argued that results alone could not define the sport’s value. An athlete’s competitive career was limited, he said; the lessons should help build a life and a contribution to the community afterwards.
“We have to think about young people… to connect generations,” he told the publication.
The Bulgarian federation’s tribute remembered him not only as its president, but as a teacher and friend.
TAEKWONDO.TV extends its condolences to his family, loved ones and the Taekwondo community.
