World Taekwondo has established an altar at its headquarters in Seoul to remember South Korean coach Ko Eui-Min ©World Taekwondo

World Taekwondo has mourned the death of renowned coach and former Technical Committee chair Ko Eui-Min, establishing a memorial altar at its headquarters in Seoul.

Ko was born in Seoul and a resident of Germany, having travelled to Europe to promote the sport in 1978.

The Grand Master served as a technical delegate at Beijing 2008, taekwondo's third appearance at the Olympic Games as a medal sport, and also served as chair of the World Taekwondo Technical Committee.

Ko died at the age of 81, and World Taekwondo has established a memorial altar to be in place for three days at its Kukkiwon headquarters.

"We are indebted to Mr Ko for his outstanding contribution to World Taekwondo," it said.

"Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time."

During Ko's coaching career, he guided South Korean athletes to 15 gold medals at the World Championships between 1974 and 1977.

He is also credited with influencing the development of taekwondo in Germany and Europe.

In 2011, he was inducted into the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame at Kukkiwon.