Lee Dae-hoon, UNHCR High Profile Supporter (left), and Kim Sae-ryeo, head of UNHCR Korea. [Photo provided by UNHCR Korea]
Lee Dae-hoon, UNHCR High Profile Supporter (left), and Kim Sae-ryeo, head of UNHCR Korea. [Photo provided by UNHCR Korea]

UNHCR Korea announced that Lee Dae-hoon, one of South Korea's most celebrated taekwondo athletes and a former national team member, has joined the agency's mission on behalf of forcibly displaced people around the world.

As a High Profile Supporter — a designation for prominent UNHCR advocates — Lee will work to raise awareness of the hardships facing refugees and urge the international community to pay greater attention to their plight.

UNHCR High Profile Supporters are key partners who draw on their exceptional public standing and influence in fields such as sports and the arts to shift public perception and drive direct engagement in humanitarian campaigns.

Lee's path to UNHCR began with an unexpected connection to the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan. A young refugee boy who trained in taekwondo with Lee as his role model sent him a video message through UNHCR from the camp, where even internet access was scarce.

The two later met in person at a world championship — Lee as a competing athlete and as a World Taekwondo athlete committee member. Lee watched the young refugee go on to compete as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team, and that journey convinced him to become a genuine advocate for young refugees.

World Taekwondo's contributions and strong support also played a significant role in bringing Lee and UNHCR together.

World Taekwondo established the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation in 2016 and signed a partnership with UNHCR the same year. Since then, it has opened taekwondo academies inside refugee camps, including the one in Azraq, giving young refugees a foundation to learn the sport even in the most difficult conditions.

Lee's consistent engagement laid the groundwork for his formal appointment. Even before officially joining, he had steadily supported UNHCR's humanitarian work — participating in major campaigns for the survival and protection of displaced people worldwide and collaborating with UNHCR on social media content to bring refugee issues to a broader public.

His efforts to raise awareness of refugees' realities online and offline also inspired many followers and members of the public to donate. "When I met in person the athlete who had sent me a video message saying he dreamed of becoming like me, and when I watched him stand proudly on the Olympic stage as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team, I felt deeply that taekwondo is a source of hope in their lives," Lee said. "Drawing on the sense of responsibility I have built through campaigns and social media, I will now use my voice as a UNHCR High Profile Supporter to help young refugees in difficult circumstances heal through sport and kick boldly toward their futures."

Kim Sae-ryeo, head of UNHCR Korea, said she was delighted that Lee — who had already moved people around the world through taekwondo — had extended a formal hand of solidarity to refugees after his heartfelt campaign involvement. "His sincere actions will serve as a powerful catalyst for inspiring empathy and participation on refugee issues among many people both in Korea and abroad," she said.


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