Park Chung Gun has decided to discontinue serving as the coach of Vietnam’s national shooting team since he felt that he was not respected.

The Sports Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Sunday that Park had sent a letter to the authority of his reply to an invitation to extend his labor contract to work as the national shooting team's coach. 

The South Korean expert said in the letter that he refused to attend a contract negotiation meeting on Tuesday next week.

He also said goodbye to the national shooting team.

Besides, Park thanked Vietnamese sports officials for having supported him for nearly 10 years, sharing that he could not return to Vietnam for his personal reasons.

However, according to some information collected by Tuoi Tre, Park felt hurt by Vietnamese sports leaders’ behaviors toward his contributions to Vietnam’s achievements in shooting over the past several years.

Particularly, he received no contact from the authority, sports officials, or the Vietnam Shooting Federation to discuss his contract after the conclusion of the 2024 Paris Olympics on August 11, despite his labor contract set to expire on August 31.

Park returned to South Korea immediately after his contract expired, expressing disappointment over the lack of recognition for his contributions and what he viewed as unprofessional behavior.

He had served as a foreign expert for Vietnam's national shooting team for nearly a decade.

He was instrumental in coaching shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh to win Vietnam’s first-ever Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games.

The South Korean expert also played a key role in Pham Quang Huy's gold medal victory at the 2023 Asian Games and in Trinh Thu Vinh's qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Before his contract expired, he served as the head coach of Vietnam’s national shooting team, receiving a monthly salary of US$6,000, exclusive of personal income tax, covered by the state budget via the sports authority.

After his departure from Vietnam in a troubled state of mind, Dang Ha Viet, head of the Sports Authority of Vietnam, sent Park a letter on Septemper 12, inviting him to enter contract negotiations.

The proposed contract would extend through the end of 2025, with the goal of helping Vietnam secure a gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games and at the 2028 Olympics.

In addition to Coach Park's situation, the national shooting team has faced other changes, including the departure of Coach Hoang Xuan Vinh.

Meanwhile, Coach Tran Quoc Cuong has yet to receive the necessary support and resources to fully utilize his potential.

Experts are urging the Sports Authority of Vietnam to swiftly stabilize the national team, emphasizing the need to recruit top foreign specialists and assemble a cadre of highly-skilled local coaches.

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