Korean Sports Council Union"Calling Chairman Lee Ki-heung to Declare Not to Run..."Spring aspiration of sports"
Oct 18, 2024
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The Korean Sports Association's labor union said on the 18th 'Will the spring of sports in Korea come?In a statement under the title ', he urged Lee Ki-heung, chairman of the Korea Sports Council, not to run, and appealed to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to join sincere sports reform instead of excessive intervention by sports organizations. Amid the conflict between the KOC and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for more than a year, the union of the KOC has voiced for the first time its head, Lee Ki-heung, who is at the center of the conflict, eager for the spring of sports in Korea, with the recent audit of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the parliamentary audit of the KOC.
Below is the full text of the trade union statement of the Korean Sports Council.
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In particular, regarding the recent organizational turmoil, our members have not been able to voice any internal checks, trapped in the limitations and helplessness of personnel belonging to the secretariat. While Chairman Lee Ki-heung has been strengthening his strength since he was first elected president of the Korea Sports Council in 2016 until he was appointed as a member of the IOC in 2019 and won a second term as president of the Korea Sports Council in 2021, he has been doing various things?In the process of boasting its power and influence by even putting forward relationship connections, it did not have the foundation to bravely counter that it was not wrong.
Chairman Lee Ki-heung's past eight years in office have not been without results. The financial scale of the Korea Sports Association has increased by 1.5 times from 270 billion won in 2016 to 410 billion won as of 2024 based on the National Sports Promotion Fund, and has successfully hosted major international sports events such as the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the 2022 ANOC General Assembly, the 2024 Gangwon Youth Winter Olympics, and the 2027 Chungcheong Summer Universiade?It also contributed to the hosting and raised its international status. In 2019, the second stage of expansion of the Jincheon National Training Center was completed, and the cradle of the Korean national team was stably converted from Taereung to Jincheon.
This achievement was made not by Chairman Lee Ki-heung alone, but by the cooperation of various sportsmen and the dedication of our members belonging to the secretariat. However, what has been the environment within the organization of the Korean Sports Association and the treatment of its members. As the leader's external status rose, the democratic communication structure disappeared, and the breath of various secretaries, including special aides, who were difficult to know the exact procedure and role of the appointment, gradually worked hard. In a coercive atmosphere, the institution's original purpose of developing sports in Korea and fulfilling the responsibilities of public institutions was blurred, and only instructions that were difficult to find proper English were piled up.
Nevertheless, our labor union continued to strive to open a forum for communication and dialogue. However, at the town hall meeting between the chairman and the union members held on October 8, the chairman's answer to the urgent questions of the union members was all about extinguishing even the remaining spark of hope until the end. Regarding the crisis situation of the organization, only the answer was that there was no problem, but only that the relationship with the government department should be corrected was repeated. His answer, which he emphasized so much, put forward only the "establishment of the National Sports Commission", which is like a panacea to solve all problems in the Korean sports world, was empty because there was no specific vision or policy after that.
On the other hand, what about the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereinafter referred to as 'The Culture and Tourism Department') that is keeping the current chairman in check. It is undeniable that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism was at the forefront of creating blacklists in the cultural world in the past, and the K-Sports Foundation and other state affairs manipulation in the sports world. In 2016, the integration between the Korean Sports Council and the National Sports Council was promoted excessively in a short period of time in the name of advancing sports organizations, and the election system for the chairman of the Korean Sports Council was also changed to the leadership of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The person elected by the election system created by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is the current chairman Lee Ki-heung. Was there any reflection on this part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism? Rather, aren't they still packaging themselves only as subjects of physical education reform despite this past?
Our labor union acknowledges the need for the Korean Sports Council to faithfully fulfill its responsibilities as a public institution and cooperate with government ministries, and is also poised to participate in a sincere approach to sports reform in Korea. But it reveals that if the ministry jumps on the populism surrounding the sports world and simply abuses its power to create a 'listening' KOC organization, it will resolutely resist.
Will the spring of sports in Korea come? We believe there is still hope. The start is for Chairman Lee Ki-heung, who triggered all these unnecessary conflicts, to declare that he will not run for the next president of the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee in a self-determination manner, and to step down in an orderly manner.
Chairman Lee Ki-heung hopes to properly face the light and shade of the sports world he left behind now! Rather than trying to win a second term through unreasonable tricks, I strongly ask you to minimize damage to members of your organization for the rest of your term and, above all, make way for the movement of real physical education reform!
October 18, 2024
18th Korean Sports Association Labor Union
sky4us@sportschosun.com
