Hyundai Motor chief praises Olympian archer Jeon Hun-young's leadership

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, who also serves as the head of the Korea Archery Association, praised Olympian archer Jeon Hun-young for her leadership within the women's archery team that nabbed three medals.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, second from left, encourages members of the Korean women's archery team — Nam Su-hyeon, far left, Jeon Hun-young, second from right, and Lim Si-hyeon, far right — at the Paris Olympics on Saturday. [HYUNDAI MOTOR GROUP]

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, who also serves as the head of the Korea Archery Association, praised Olympian archer Jeon Hun-young for her leadership within the women's archery team that nabbed three medals.

Chung, a dedicated supporter of Korean archery teams, visited Jeon on Saturday after the women's individual game to thank her for her leadership within the team. Jeon narrowly missed a medal by one point in the individual game, coming in at fourth while her other teammates, Lim Si-hyeon and Nam Su-hyeon, won gold and silver respectively. All three athletes were first-time Olympians.

Jeon, born in 1994, has some 10-year age gaps with Lim and Nam who were born in 2003 and 2005, respectively. The 30-year-old Jeon qualified for the Tokyo Olympics four years ago, but had to retake qualifying trials when the Games were delayed due to the coronavirus. In the second qualification test, she failed to make the national team for the Tokyo Olympics.

Instead of using her age as a source of power, which is common in the hierarchical culture in the world of athletes, Jeon was often spotted taking a step back to make sure her younger teammates were feeling comfortable.

When distributing rooms for Olympians, Jeon willingly came forward to share a room with an unfamiliar athlete from another sport to let Nam and Lim share a room. Rooms in the Olympic Village had to be shared by two people, and since the women's archery team comprised of three members, one athlete had to have a not-so-familiar roommate.

When one of the coaching staff members asked Jeon if she was O.K. to room with an unfamiliar athlete from another sport for more than 10 days, she had answered "If Nam and Lim can stay comfortably, then that's good with me."

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, center of the three standing men in white shirts, cheers for the archery athletes at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. [HYUNDAI MOTOR GROUP]

Her role in the team match was also formidable.

Jeon's habit of shooting arrows quickly made her the first shooter in the team's game to let the remaining two members take their time within the 120-second limit per round.

Her team won the gold medal despite concerns that the three members lacked experience in big matches.

"There were concerns around Korea's national archery team, but in the end we won three gold medals across all categories [individual, women's team, mixed team]," Jeon said.

"There was a lot of pressure, but we achieved our goal. I am satisfied with such great results as a team."

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]