A whistleblower has claimed that taekwondo became an Olympic sport after officials were bribed with cash and cars. Ho Kim, a 66-year-old South Korean, claims to have carried out corrupt payments while working as the head of marketing and PR at the World Taekwondo Federation ahead of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, when the martial art was included as an event at the games for the first time. Ho Kim says that, in the lead up to the 1994 International Olympic Committee (IOC) congress, he and others were instructed by Dr Kim Un-yong, the founding president of the World Taekwondo Federation, to do whatever it took to get the IOC’s backing for the Korean martial art. Ho Kim claims to have arranged for two Daewoo cars to be sent to one IOC member from Mali, while other voting officials were given cash payments in brown envelopes. He also claims officials were reimbursed for first-class flights that had already been paid for by Dr. Kim. “Taekwondo started as an Olympic sport from Sydney in 2000 because of that,” Ho Kim said. World Taekwondo said: “We urge that all evidence behind these allegations is shared with the World Taekwondo Integrity Committee so a proper investigation can be conducted.”