The World Taekwondo Federation will appoint U.S. legendary thrash metal band Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine as the WTF Goodwill Ambassador in a ceremony in Seoul, Korea, on Oct. 27, 2007.

It will mark the first time for the WTF, the world’s sole taekwondo governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee, to appoint its Goodwill Ambassador.

The four-member Megadeth band, which is now on a Pacific Rim concert tour, is to arrive in Seoul in the afternoon of Oct. 27 for its concert at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the Olympic Hall of Olympic Park in Seoul. For Megadeth, it will be their fourth concert for Korean fans this time, following its performances in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

The conferment ceremony for Megadeth will take place around 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in downtown Seoul.

On behalf of WTF President Chungwon Choue, who is now abroad, WTF Secretary General Jin Suk Yang will present Megadeth leader Mustaine with a certificate of appointment as the WTF “Goodwill Ambassador of the World” and an honorary WTF 4th Dan certificate, as well as a taekwondo uniform and a black belt.

The other three Megadeth members bassist James LoMenzo, guitarist Glen Drover and his brother Shawn Drover – will each receive a taekwondo uniform and a black belt during the ceremony.

As a pioneer of the American thrash metal movement, Megadeth rose to international fame in the mid 1980s, but were plagued by constant lineup changes, due partly to Mustaine’s and fellow band members’ notorious substance abuse problems. After finding sobriety and securing a stable lineup, Megadeth went on to release a string of platinum and gold albums between 1986 and 1997.

Medadeth disbanded in 2002 after Mustaine suffered a severe nerve injury to his left arm, but following 17 months of extensive physical therapy and intensive taekwondo training, Mustaine reorganized the band in 2004 before releasing “The System has Failed” and “United Abominations” in 2007, which debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.

Mr. Mustaine, born in 1961 and a taekwondo black belt holder, recently accepted the WTF offer as the WTF Goodwill Ambassador, promising to do his best for the promotion of the Olympic sport of taekwondo.

Concerning taekwondo, he said that taekwondo is “the source of his confidence in his life.”

Medadeth is often mentioned as one of the “Big Four of Thrash” bands, along with Anthrax, Metallica and Slayer.