Seeking a fourth term as the international taekwondo chief, Choue Chung-won said Tuesday he is opposed to an unified candidacy in the upcoming election.

At a press conference, Choue, the incumbent head of the World Taekwondo Federation, said he is intent on running in the election alone without joining forces with a rival candidate.

“There’s no need to force the issue and unify the candidacy,” Choue said. “Candidates should lay down their own policy goals and try to win support.”

The WTF is scheduled to hold the election during its general assembly on July 14 in Puebla, Mexico. The term is for four years.

The deadline for candidate application was last Friday. Though the WTF has yet to reveal the candidates, sources have said only Choue and a second South Korean, Rep. Hong Moon-jong of the ruling Saenuri Party, are in the running.

Taekwondo is a traditional Korean martial art and the WTF is headquartered in South Korea. But the organization has never had two South Korean candidates go toe-to-toe for the president’s post.

Hong, who is running for the job for the first time, had been trying to unify his candidacy with Choue, but the current president essentially rejected the offer on Tuesday.

Choue took over as the WTF head in 2004, when then-president Kim Un-yong stepped down with one year left on his term. Choue was reelected in 2005 and again in 2009.

Choue has been credited with bringing positive changes to help shed taekwondo’s image as a tedious sport and keep it as one of 25 “core sports” in the Olympics.

Ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, the WTF adopted the use of electronic protective vests and socks for scoring, along with instant-video replays.

These moves for the most part eliminated judging disputes and drew favorable reviews. (Yonhap News)