In Memoriam

Grand Master Moo Yong Lee
Kukkiwon 10th Dan

It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of Grand Master Lee.

Words cannot express the gratitude of his faithful students.

May 20, 1938 - December 16, 2016

Grandmaster Moo Yong Lee

On February 21, 2017 Grand Master Moo Yong Lee was posthumously promoted to 10th Dan by the Kukkiwon.

On April 30, 2016 Grandmaster Moo Yong Lee was inducted into the USA Grandmasters Society Hall of Fame and was recognized as an Outstanding Leader.

On May 7, 2013, Grandmaster Lee was awarded the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition Lifetime Achievement Award in Washington, DC. This prestigious award honors those who have greatly contributed to the advancement or promotion of physical activity, fitness, sports, or nutrition nationwide.

For well over 60 years, Grandmaster Lee has been well-known and highly regarded by the worldwide sports community. An early pioneer who helped to spread the Korean art of Taekwondo to the United States, he is one of only a handful of individuals who hold the highest rank of 9th degree Black Belt, and is recognized by fellow instructors worldwide as a man of impeccable integrity and dedication.

Grandmaster Lee championed the inclusion of Taekwondo as an Olympic sport and in the early ’80s played a formative role in the establishment of the United States Taekwondo Union which was later to become USA Taekwondo, the U.S. National Governing Body of Olympic Taekwondo. He served as president of the organization from 1985-1986.

A natural leader through his own example of total commitment and hard work, Grandmaster Lee—simply “Mr. Lee” to his long-time students - humbly considered himself to be a student of his beloved art, and continued until his passing to teach with kindness and humor at the school he founded in East Hartford, Connecticut in 1974. Over the course of his career, he has trained and certified more than 550 Black Belts, and it is a tribute to the effectiveness of his instruction that a great many of his students—now Masters and Grandmasters themselves—continued to train and learn with him for as long as he was able.

(See also GM Lee's website)