The Korea Olympic Committee (KOC) will dispatch three delegations to 15 countries in a bid to retain the traditional Korean martial art of taekwondo as an official sport at the 2012 Summer Olympics, an official of the South Korean body told Yonhap on Tuesday.

The delegations will launch their 15-day publicity campaigns at staggered intervals and travel to 15 countries, including the United States, Argentina, Finland and Mexico, according to Yonhap. Each delegation is scheduled to leave Friday, the report said.

They will appeal to the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as well as urging the chairmen of each National Olympic Committee, to keep the sport as an official event, the official said.

The IOC members will decide on the issue at its general assembly in Singapore next month. A negative vote would see the martial art eliminated from the 2012 Olympics as a competition sport.

Taekwondo made its first official appearance at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and will be retained for the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua