Korean figure skater Cha Jun-hwan speaks to reporters before an interview with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee for candidacy in the election for the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission at the Olympic Center in Seoul, Feb. 26. Yonhap

Two Korean Olympians seeking International Olympic Committee (IOC) membership each expressed confidence in their credentials and experience Wednesday ahead of an interview with the national Olympic body.

Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan and retired bobsleigh pilot Won Yun-jong are each trying to get into next year's election for the IOC Athletes' Commission. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) held interviews with them Wednesday and will later determine which of the two will run in the election during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Cha, 23, declared his intention first Jan. 13, and Won, 39, followed suit eight days later.

According to the IOC, the mission of the Athletes' Commission is to represent fellow athletes and support their development in their sporting and nonsporting careers.

Athlete members serve an eight-year term, but otherwise have the same responsibilities and rights as other IOC members.

The candidate must be able to communicate effectively in English or French, the two official working languages of the IOC.

Candidates for the Athletes' Commission must have competed in the Olympics right before the election or at the time of their election. Cha skated at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games, and will try to qualify for the 2026 event. Won competed at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Olympics before retiring.

Cha is the most decorated male figure skater Korea has seen. He captured silver at the 2023 world championships, becoming the first Korean man to medal at the top competition. Cha also won the 2022 Four Continents title, and added a bronze and a silver at the same event in 2024 and 2025.

Earlier this month, Cha skated to his Asian Winter Games gold medal in China.

Former Korean bobsleigh pilot Won Yun-jong speaks to reporters before an interview with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee for candidacy in the election for the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission at the Olympic Center in Seoul, Feb. 26. Yonhap

Won owns one big prize that Cha doesn't have: an Olympic medal, a silver in the four-man bobsleigh event at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. It was Korea's first Olympic medal in bobsleigh.

Before the interview, Cha said he will try to bank on his English proficiency — he used to train in Toronto with Canadian legend Brian Orser — and the lessons he has learned from competing at the past two Olympic Games.

Cha also said his status as an active athlete should help him build relationships with fellow athletes.

"Because I am an athlete at the moment, I think I already have connections with athletes," he said. "I think it's one of my strengths. If I am elected, I will work to protect their basic rights."

Cha said he had "utmost respect" for Won, who has more experience than Cha in sports administration, having served on the athletes' commission for both the KSOC and the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF).

"He was our hero at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics," Cha said of Won. "I will have to capitalize on my own set of strengths in the interview."

Cha has had a busy start to the year, having skated at the Winter World University Games in January and at the Asian Winter Games and the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in consecutive weeks in February.

"I've used my time in between competitions to prepare for this interview," Cha said. "I am not lacking in confidence just because I've had a tight schedule lately."

Won also expressed his admiration for Cha, saying he was "a huge fan" of the figure skater.

"He has accomplished so much in his sport, and I am sure he will do his best in the interview," Won said. "I will try to present my own visions."

Won said his experience working for athletes at both the KSOC and IBSF can help him in the IOC election, if he is named the Korean candidate.

"I've competed at three Olympic Games and won a medal. And I've represented fellow athletes, not just in Korea but also internationally," Won said. "I've been able to build international networks and hear what my peers have had to say. I think the Olympians will recognize that at the election next year and see that I will be able to work hard for them."

Won may not be as fluent in English as Cha is, but he said he lived in Calgary, Canada, for about a year after his retirement in 2022 to study the language and also build communities with fellow winter sports athletes.

The Athletes' Commission can have a maximum 23 members, with up to 12 voted by peers and a maximum 11 appointed by the IOC president.

There have been two Korean members of the Athletes' Commission: the 2004 Olympic taekwondo champion Moon Dae-sung (2008-2016) and the 2004 Olympic table tennis gold medalist Ryu Seung-min (2016-2024).

Last year, LPGA Hall of Famer Park In-bee beat out four other Olympians to become the lone Korean candidate but lost in the election during the Paris Summer Olympics. (Yonhap)