He is a bemedalled national sailor, an International Olympic Committee member and a driving force behind the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Ng Ser Miang has added another feather to his cap when he was named the honorary chairman of Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters).
Ng, 68, told The Straits Times yesterday: "I feel honoured (to be appointed) and I believe that taekwondo is more than just a martial art and a sport.
"It manifests itself through the values of the Olympic movement - excellence, friendship and respect.
"Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport since 2000 and there is a lot of scope for development. A key motivation for me when I take on international appointments is how I can use the role to support the sport in Singapore.
"With this appointment in Kukkiwon, I believe it will help Singapore taekwondo very much."
Kukkiwon is Korea's governing body for taekwondo established by the Korean government. It is in charge of various aspects of the sport, like training, grading as well as research and innovation.
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S'POREANS ON INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ASSOCIATIONS (SELECTED)
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JESSIE PHUA
The Singapore Bowling Federation president and Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) vice-president was president of world bowling body, Federation Internationale des Quilleurs, from 2007 to 2011.
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ANNABEL PENNEFATHER
The SNOC vice-president was vice-president of the International Hockey Federation from 2004 to 2010. She is currently the president of the FIH's judicial commission, the International Association of Athletics Federations disciplinary tribunal and an external judicial expert with the Badminton World Federation.
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LOW TEO PING
The SNOC vice-president and former Singapore Sailing and Singapore Rugby Union president served as vice-president of the International Sailing Federation from 2004 to 2012.
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LIM KIA TONG
The Football Association of Singapore president is a member of Fifa's disciplinary committee (DC), having served as its deputy chairman from 2013 to 2017. He is also the Asian Football Confederation's DC chairman from March 2011 until July 2019.
Ng is one of the Republic's most experienced and respected sports administrators. He is also the previous chairman of national sports agency Sport Singapore (then known as Singapore Sports Council) from 1991 to 2002 . He is a member of the IOC's executive board from 2005-2009 and again from 2016, serving as the committee's vice-president from 2009-2013.
He is also known for his strong association with sailing. He is a former Singapore sailor who won a silver medal at the 1969 South-east Asia Peninsular Games, the precursor to the SEA Games.
He told ST that his involvement with taekwondo stemmed from his friendship with Kukkiwon's late founder Kim Un Yong, who launched the organisation in 1972. The former IOC vice-president died on Oct 3 at the age of 86.
"I had known Mr Kim since 1991, when I was then the chairman of the Singapore Sports Council and visited Korea and China. He was the founding president of Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation. It was through him that I learned about taekwondo and I helped to support our local NSA (national sports association)."
Singapore Taekwondo Federation president Milan Kwee hailed the appointment, saying: "This is a great honour and I am delighted to see a Singaporean holding this high appointment at Kukkiwon.
"Mr Ng is a person known by many in the world of sports and he is well-liked. He is very humble and a very helpful person."
