[6.29 Cabinet Reshuffle] Korea's Top Weightlifter Jang Miran Unexpectedly Appointed as Head of Sports Administration

Appointed as 2nd Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Olympic Gold Medalist and 4-time World Championship Winner
Teaching Students at Yongin University Since 2016

Jang Mi-ran, a professor in the Department of Physical Education at Yongin University who made a mark in sports history, is stepping up as an administrator responsible for Korean sports. On the 29th, the Presidential Office appointed Professor Jang as the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This position leads sports and tourism policies within the ministry. She is the third elite athlete who has served as a national representative to be appointed, following Park Jong-gil (shooting) in 2013 and Choi Yun-hee (swimming) in 2019.

Chairman Jang Mi-ran mentoring at Suwon Cheongmyeong High School
[Photo by Jang Mi-ran Foundation]

Vice Minister Jang is a flagship figure in Korean sports, having achieved four consecutive wins (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) at the World Weightlifting Championships from 2005 to 2009. She also earned gold (2008 Beijing), silver (2004 Athens), and bronze (2012 London) medals at the Olympics. No other female weightlifter in the super heavyweight category (then over 75 kg) has maintained the top position longer than she did, despite the short career span typical in the sport.

Vice Minister Jang began weightlifting relatively late, in her third year at Sangji Girls' Middle School. Within less than a year, she dominated the national stage and gained global attention by winning a silver medal (total 302.5 kg) at the 2004 Athens Olympics. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she set a world record at the time (total 326 kg) and won South Korea’s first Olympic gold medal in women’s weightlifting history. She also won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Although she initially placed fourth after failing to lift the 170 kg she attempted in the third clean and jerk, she was later upgraded to third place after Hripsime Khurshudyan (Armenia), who had won the bronze, tested positive for banned substances in her urine sample.

In 2012, Vice Minister Jang established the Jang Mi-ran Foundation to support young athletes and announced her retirement in January 2013. Known as a "studious athlete" during her active career, she earned a master's degree from Sungshin Women's University Graduate School and a doctorate from Yongin University Graduate School. In 2016, she was appointed as a professor in the Department of Physical Education at Yongin University. The following year, she studied abroad at Kent State University in Ohio, USA, and returned to Yongin University in 2021 to continue teaching students.

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