The contract was signed by the President of the World Taekwondo Federation, Prof. Chungwon Choue, and the President of the Board of Directors of the Special Hospital St. Catherine, Prof. Dr. Dragan Primorac. The event, held at the Sheraton Zagreb Hotel, which far exceeded a typical press conference, was also attended by the new Minister of Tourism and Sports, Tonči Glavina, the Director of St. Catherine's, Prof. Dr. Igor Borić, the Secretary General of the Croatian Olympic Committee, Mr. Siniša Krajač, the former Minister of Tourism and Sports, Dr. Nikolina Brnjac, the Chairman of the World Taekwondo Federation Medical Committee, Prof. Dr. Dae Hyoun Jeong, the Secretary General of the Croatian Taekwondo Federation, Petar Josipović, the President of the Zagreb Sports Association, Vjekoslav Šafranić, the Chairman of the Croatian Olympic Committee Medical Committee, Prim. Dr. Miran Martinac, the Committee Secretary, Mag. Pharm. Mimi Vurdelja, and many other distinguished guests.
Highlighting the outstanding achievements of Croatian taekwondo athletes, with an emphasis on the fact that Korea did not win a medal at the last Olympics while Croatia won two, WT President Prof. Dr. Chungwon Choue particularly emphasized that "the Special Hospital St. Catherine is one of the best in the world."
The President of the Croatian Taekwondo Federation, Anto Nobilo, first presented the outstanding achievements of his Federation's representatives:
- Croatian Taekwondo is the flagship of Croatian individual Olympic sports, having won over 400 medals in international competitions, including 5 Olympic medals. In Croatia, more than 10,000 people practice Taekwondo, with a tendency for constant growth. Our Taekwondo athletes are truly the best, and the Special Hospital St. Catherine is a world center of excellence. If we want the best results, this symbiosis is completely natural. The best hospital is our guarantee of sporting success, and that's why we are proud of this collaboration. Since we plan to build a National Taekwondo Center and the Special Hospital St. Catherine is already a center of excellence for WT, immediately after we build the Center, we will initiate the process of declaring the Center as our own center of excellence.
The President of the Management Board of the Special Hospital St. Catherine, Vice President of the Croatian Taekwondo Association, and member of the Council of the Croatian Olympic Committee, Prof. Dr. Dragan Primorac, was a key figure in the realization of this contract:
- This is a tremendous recognition for Croatian medicine, science, and sports, which strongly positions our country in the global environment. I am grateful to President Prof. Choue and the leadership of WT for their trust, which no other healthcare institution in the world has received so far. Our work concept is based on the principles of personalized medicine, utilizing all the advantages of whole-genome analysis and a multi-omics approach, as well as regenerative medicine. With an interdisciplinary approach, we enable athletes to complete all diagnostics, treatment, and rehabilitation in one place.
The Director of the Special Hospital St. Catherine, Prof. Dr. Igor Borić, did not hide his satisfaction:
- The Special Hospital St. Catherine is the official hospital of the Croatian Olympic Committee, the Croatian Football Federation, and many other national sports associations. Our goal is to help athletes and provide the highest quality of service for all athletes. The opportunity to be part of the taekwondo world places additional responsibility on us to further improve the quality of our services and to be even better.
The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Tonči Glavina, called this act a great opportunity to strengthen the position of the Republic of Croatia as a great destination for health tourism, adding:
- We are pleased that with this act, Croatia is becoming even more globally recognizable. Just as we celebrate our successes in sports, we should also celebrate those we have achieved in medicine and science. The St. Catherine Hospital is recognized as a global center of excellence, and it is very significant that, despite being a small country, we achieve top results.
Welcoming the head of the world taekwondo association, the Secretary General of the Croatian Olympic Committee, Siniša Krajač, said that this contract is making history:
- This act will contribute to the development of sports because the Special Hospital St. Catherine takes care of all Croatian athletes, and now this context of care for athletes gains even greater significance.
This significant event marks a new step forward in the advancement of sports and the health of athletes worldwide, precisely because it involves collaboration with an organization that governs one of the most widely practiced sports globally, with over 100 million members. This organization comprises 213 member countries plus a supranational team of refugees and displaced persons.
